In the Home of Chat
by Added-OC
Summary: Years after Hawkmoth was defeated and Ladybug mysteriously vanished, Chat Noir still roams the streets of Paris, protecting the city alone. Marinette finally takes her first steps towards her dreams of being a fashion designer by getting accepted into ESMOD, and meets a friendly face that brightens her day. But what happens when friendly smiles become sinister and only a leather cl
1. Chapter 1

Sirens blaring in her ears, the flashing lights set the scene as more of a nightmarish fever dream than reality. Gabriel Agreste laying at her feet, the pendant that housed the butterfly kwami was in her hand and everyone in the city was watching. Her breath was coming in short bursts and the ringing in her ears covered up everything but the steady beep of her earrings. She didn't have any time left, Chat could handle the press and Mr. Agreste. She needed to get the Miraculous to Master Fu and find Adrien.

Adrien.

Was he one of the countless others watching a screen or was he in the crowd seeing it all first hand? The dust filled ruins of the Champs-Élysées was slowly filling with far too many bystanders for her to pick him out even if she tried. She couldn't try though, she had no time.

Chat was on his knees behind the unconscious fashion icon, his head bowed in a way that Ladybug had never before seen. His eyes seemed dead, hollow, as they looked up at her through messy golden bangs. He looked like a husk of a man, a shell of his former more energetic self. She had no time to ponder on the sight of her best friend and most trusted partner either.

She. Had. To. Go.

A tear slid from her cheek as she whipped her yoyo from her hip and began to spin it by her side. Then, she was flying. The reporters slew of questions were all drowned out by the sound of the wind in her ears. She had to hurry, had to be as efficient as possible if she wanted to make it to Master Fu's home before the remaining two spots on her earrings went out, slipping away along with her transformation. She put all of her thoughts on her efforts to avoid the questions in the back of her mind, questions that brought the tears along with them, questions that were best left unasked when she wasn't close to Adrien anymore, questions that would leave her frozen with fear for her best friend, her partner, and the boy who had her heart. All three of them would have to be ignored if she wanted to finish her task. Yet, Adrien still managed to take over her thoughts...

How was he going to react to his father being the number one super villain of Paris for all of these years?

Would he hate Chat and herself now for taking him down?

Chat had come so close to touching Hawkmoths flesh with his cataclysm back there.

Adrien, when would he know about what happened?

Would he show up if there was a trial?

She stumbled on a roof, her mind too far into her unanswered questions for her to pay attention to her surroundings. She missed when she attempted to keep herself aloft with her yoyo, and found herself falling towards the damp concrete below. Twisting her body mid fall allowed her to land safely, with only a small, sharp pain shooting up her right leg as punishment for giving in to her fearful thoughts. She winced and grabbed her thigh in an attempt to soothe the pain. She rubbed it in slow circles as a blinding pink light filled the area around her. Then her transformation dropped, leaving her as plain simple Marinette, alone in the alley but for her kwami Tikki, who was laying pitifully on her shoulder. Still wincing from the pain, she removed her hand from it's spot on her leg in order to scoop the tiny red god into her palm so she could get a better look at her.

"Are you okay Tikki?" She asked around large puffs of air she exhaled to draw her focus off of her leg.

"I'll be fine Marinette," Tikki responded as she turned her eyes on her miraculous holder, "we need to get Duusu to Master Fu." She finished her statement as she shifted her attention pointedly to the winged pendant in Marinette's hand.

"Right." Marinette gritted her teeth and practically dragged her injured leg behind her as she weaved her way through the alleyway crowded with boxes, a faint beeping sound growing louder and louder with each step that she took. She tried to ignore it, her focus on finishing what Needed to be done, but it was all encompassing and grew in volume to the point that her vision began to fade until all she saw was white...

"No!" She screamed as she sat upright in her bed, memories of the same dream that had plagued her for years filling her mind as beads of sweat dripped from her forehead down to her chin. She took a moment to return to reality as a long drawn out breath escaped her lips, then glared at the device making the offending noises. Her phone alarm was going non stop, endlessly beeping, and forcing a headache into her temples at each sound. She groaned and reached over to her nightstand to shut it off before laying back on her bed and releasing a long exhale once again. Her eyes were locked onto the painted white ceiling above her head as she thought over her dream. It was really more of a memory, the day they finally stopped Hawkmoth had been stressful and hectic and so packed with emotions that her brain still had a hard time processing it all. Sometimes she dreamed of the fight, sometimes of what happened after, but it was always of that day.

"Marinette?" She turned her head to see Tikki rubbing her eyes as the small god sat on the pillow beside her. She must have been thrashing in her sleep again, the small kwami would often nuzzle her cheek during the night if her dreams became too much.

"I'm fine," she waved away Tikkis concerns with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes before slipping her blanket down to her knees and sitting up once again. "It was just a dream." she added, more to herself than her tiny partner, as she turned to hang her legs off of the side of the bed. A long yawn escaped her lips as she stretched and looked around her small bedroom. It was packed full of cloth and boxes of thread, yarn, and needles. All things that were needed for her classes at ESMOD, the fashion university that she had struggled for two years to finally join. Two mannequins sat in the corner by her door that lead to the rest of her apartment. Moving out of her parents house had been a stressful endeavor, but the sight of the boxes that still needed to be unpacked filled her with a new sense of pride. She had made it on her own. She was living by herself for the first time in her life and attending a school she had gotten into on her own merits. Her days would be spent in classes and at her part time job that she had managed to get on her own merit. Finally, she was moving forward with her life.

She moved from her bed and to the suitcase by her closet that held the clothes she had planned out for her first week of school. Alya had offered her the piece of advice to prepare the suitcase before she moved out so she wouldn't be rummaging through boxes for a week in search of what to wear. Her best friend of many years had taken on a whole new level of motherly advice after her marriage, and subsequent move in with Nino. Though she greatly appreciated the advice, she wanted to finally be on her own, making her own decisions, and mistakes, along the way. With that thought in mind she began to dress for the first day of school, a warm pair of light pea green wool leggings and a black pencil skirt was combined with a button up blouse to match the leggings and a pair of black, leather, babydoll pumps. Her usual pigtails, that had been a part of her aesthetic for years, was replaced with a long high ponytail that showed off just how much her hair had grown since her days in collège. With a light touch of makeup here and there, she was ready to face her first day with confidence.

"You're looking absolutely ready to run your own fashion line!" Tikki exclaimed as she caught up to Marinette in the bathroom where she was finishing up brushing her teeth.

"To be honest with you Tikki, I am excited." Marinette smiles brightly at her old friend as she wiped her mouth on a waiting washcloth. "This is the first step to my five year plan. Just you wait, pretty soon there will be a little shop right by the Seine. Marinettes Boutique." She let out a dreamy sigh as she leaned against the wall by her bathroom sink. Her mind was years ahead of them now, dancing through a shop full of clothes that she made herself and customers who adored them. Tikki has seen her go through these same emotions for years over many things. In her teens it had been over a certain blonde boy who had infatuated her for a long time, but slowly she grew away from infatuations of love and moved on to focusing on her future beyond just marriage and kids. It was a long and complicated road for her, and she was nowhere near the end of it. Still, Tikki was proud of the young woman her chosen had become: Strong willed and a brilliant young woman who looked ahead to her promising future, rather than focusing on a past she found so painful.

"You're going to do great Marinette!" She cheered as she followed the energetic young woman through the apartment. The young designer snatched her phone from her bedroom before returning to her kitchen/dining area/living room combination and sliding onto a barstool she had received as a housewarming gift from her parents. Tikki watched as she typed furiously on the screen before reaching over to snatch two cookies out of the waiting cookie jar and handing one over to Tikki. For only being in the apartment officially for a day, the two of them had already settled into an easy morning routine. It was simple, given it was their usual morning activities with just a bit more freedom granted to both of them, due to not having to worry about Marinette's parents checking in on her during that time. Yes, Marinette getting her own place was a good thing for both of them.

"My Uber's here." Marinette announces when her phone chimed loudly. She hopped from her seat on the stool and grabbed a small round purse with a bird graphic on it, the same purse she had made when she was fourteen out of the shirt her grandmother had gifted her for her birthday. Without a word, she held it open and Tikki zipped into it happily. Marinette gave her new home one last look over and took in a deep breath. Today was the first day of her new life, not even a haunting dream could hold her back from running head on towards her future.

* * *

Adrien groaned as he rolled over in the bed, sunlight streamed through the large windows surrounding his bedroom. Across the bed, on a pillow used by no other human being, slept his Kwami, Plagg, snoring loudly on his back. The tiny god, resembling a black cat, was completely relaxed from their outing the night before, and the wheel of camembert he had received from a completely tired Adrien afterwards. The young man sat up and rubbed his sleep filled eyes, before reaching for a pair of wire rimmed glasses that were waiting for him on his bedside table. Once they were firmly on his nose, he searched in his sheets for his phone and powered it up. The time flashed and a notification of about forty missed calls from his personal assistant, he groaned once again at the sight. Fall was a hectic time for the Agreste fashion line, now his company. It formerly went by his father's first name, but after the battle that nearly killed them both, and had seen him sending his father off to the hospital (eventually jail too), he had decided that it would be best to move the company's focus away from the man that created it. Now it simply went by their last name. It was a simple change, but one that opened the company back up to the public, without the amount of scrutiny that would have come with it being named after a terrorist. He knew he had to get on approving designs that had been submitted for the fall fashion contest, but the ache in his gut told him it could wait another hour or so. He was hungry, he was always hungry first thing in the morning after a patrol night, but before he could eat, he had to freshen up for the hectic day ahead of him.

He slipped out of the bed, careful not to disturb the still dozing Plagg, and made his way to the adjoining bathroom by his closet door. The light in his bathroom was harsh, he found himself cupping his hand over his glasses to shield his eyes for a moment before they adjusted to the light. Only then did he move further into the checkerboard styled room. His feet slapped against the porcelain tiles as he made his way to his large vanity and mirror. The thick black granite sink made a dull hum as the faucet was turned on and his glasses clinked lightly on the countertop as they were placed beside it. He cupped his hands and gathered a fair amount of water into them before bringing it up to splash across his cheeks. The chill of the liquid on his overly warm cheeks had his mind instantly snapping into alertness. The memories of the night before flowed back to him, causing him to let out a long drawn out and defeated sigh. He had been on patrol when a woman's scream had him racing towards the Eiffel Tower. Once he had rescued her from her attacker, and safely returned her to her path home, she had asked him something that was both heartbreaking for him, and something that filled his heart with hope.

"Have you heard from Ladybug lately?"

Surely that had to mean that the red and black spotted heroine was out there somewhere? The people of Paris had to have seen her lately, right? Back in the moment, another round of cold water on his cheeks was done and he decided upon his answer; Ladybug was still out there somewhere, but there was a reason she hadn't shown up for her duty in just over four years. He could remember the countless nights he spent searching for her, calling her from his baton phone as he leapt from building to building and even using Plagg during the day to feel for her kwamis presence. Years had gone by like that with no luck, and gradually school and work got in the way of his search for his partner more and more, until one day he couldn't look for her at all. It had been nearly a year now since he had searched for her, yet now she was suddenly back in the forefront of his mind. All due to that one simple question. He sighed as the image of her bluebell eyes hovered in his mind and he waved his hands before himself as if he could wipe the mirage from the very air in front of his face. She was a ghost, coming back to haunt him after being virtually gone from his mind finally. His cruel Lady who had left him that last day by the back entrance of the hospital, bleeding heavily from his abdomen…

"I am so sorry Chaton, it's all my fault, I-" Ladybug had broken into sobs that rocked her entire body as she laid him gently against the wall of the hospital. The cold breeze was blocked by her body as she crumbled onto him momentarily. He tried to resist crying out in pain as her weight rested on his gunshot wound, but the soft grunt was enough to get her shooting straight up once again. He had never seen her this upset, even months before when they had teamed up to take down his father once and for all. She seemed more stressed and distracted than saddened by the reveal of who Hawkmoth really was. Months of playing at being glorified police officers had ended them up here, a gunshot wound in the right side of his abdomen and Ladybug standing before his hunched figure with tears cascading down her cheeks in rivers. Even with his own nearly blinding pain, he wanted to reach out and wipe those tears away.

"I wasn't p-paying attention my-my lady. I should've kept an eye on the robber." He managed to form the words around painful grunts and gasps that only intensified the flame like feeling licking up his side. She shook her head at his words and wiped at her face furiously to rid herself of the tears that had, at this point, stained her cheeks a soft blush-red.

"Wait right there Chaton, don't move! I'll go grab a nurse, you're going to be fine, just fine." He knew that at this point she couldn't really hear him. Her mind was running a mile a minute, going over all the possible outcomes that his injury could cause. Before he could give her a witty, pun laced answer, she dashed through the double glass doors of the building and slipped out of his sight. He laid against the cold stone wall for a few minutes longer before nurses and doctors were rushing out with a gurney, ready to deliver one of the city's heroes into the operating room without a second thought.

For a split second he thought he saw Ladybug's iconic blue black pigtails while he was being pushed down the wide hallway, but then a baby pink hood was placed over the pigtails that had caught his attention, they pushed him around a corner, and she was gone.

Ladybug had never appeared to help him protect Paris ever again after that night...

He stepped into the shower as the memory replayed in his mind on a loop. He freed himself of his clothes as he attempted to hold on to that last image of the hair: that had to be Ladybug in her civilian persona, but her face was not coming to his mind at all. It was a fuzzy image where only her bluebell eyes stood out along with her ever constant pigtails. The warm water hitting his back and shoulders did little to pull him from his thoughts, and he lathered himself with body wash on autopilot rather than really paying attention to what he was doing. As he rinsed his body, he blinked away the memory along with the sting of tears brought on by both his thoughts and the drips of body wash which had gotten into his eyes. Paying a bit more attention to what he was doing now, he grabbed his shampoo out of the shower caddy and popped open the bottle, inhaling the scent of almonds and vanilla, before squirting out a sizeable portion into his hand. Her smeared it onto his sweat and water dampened tresses before massaging the gel like liquid in. Bubbles ran down his arms as he continued to massage his scalp with the shampoo and he soon fell into the mind numbing task with a fervor that was new to his morning. A low rumble worked its way from his chest to his throat as he hit a particularly (purr-ticularly) good spot near the back of his left ear, he simply scratched and rubbed at that spot for a while, filling the bathroom with very inhuman purring as he did so. His mind was slowly numbing from the attention he was giving his scalp and his purring grew louder and louder as his fingers worked between his skin and lather filled hair.

"What are you doing in here kid!?" Plaggs nasally voice filled his ears, causing him to jump and cease his menstraitions on his head. He glared at the tiny floating black cat that hovered just on the other side of his glass shower wall and blinked a few times before turning his head up to rinse the soapy bubbles from his face. Plagg chuckled as he held up a chunk of camembert before his chest before tossing it up and swallowing it whole, as he had done many many times before over the years.

"P-Plagg!" Adrien sputtered as he hurriedly rinsed his hair so he could snatch a towel and get his naked body covered.

"It's not like I don't know your demensions kid, I am a part of you when you're in the mask and suit after all." The small god of destruction sniggered at his furiously blushing chosen and watched as the blonde stumble out of the room in search of clothes. It only took a few seconds once Adrien entered bedroom before he was back, snatching his glasses off of the counter by the sink and putting them on. He shot Plagg one last glare that had the kwami cackling, before rushing out of the room once more.

"Hey kid, don't be mad, I was worried when I heard you making those weird noises. I thought you were drowning or something." He informed the blonde who huffed in return as he shoved his suit pants on angrily. The room fell into silence as Adrien finished getting ready for the day and Plagg pulled more cheese from his hiding spots around the room, an old cat gains habits that are hard to break after all.

"I don't have time to deal with your sarcasm this morning!" Adrien was the one who broke the silence as he laced up his black leather wingtips with quick and anger filled motions.

"What's the matter?" Plagg asked as he lounged in the air casually, "upset because your assistant is getting too clingy?"

"Ugh," with a defeated breath, Adrien lifted his phone from the foot of the bed where it rested and tapped the screen to bring it to life. Three more missed calls, Abigail was growing anxious about something. He grumbled under his breath before pulling up his contacts and scrolling down to her number. With a pointed look at his kwami and a finger to his lips, he clicked the icon to call her office phone and held his own up to his ear.

* * *

Alya coughed after depositing her breakfast into the porcelain bowl of her toilet. Her body still attempted to go through the motions of heaving up anything, but to no avail, she had nothing left to give in her. With one last spit into the soupy substance below her, she reached around the side of the toilet to press down the handle and flush the evidence of her sickness away, watching as it began to be replaced by fresh water once again. With careful movements, she heaved her tired body up onto the seat and glanced down at the drawer in the counter by her. She knew that this habit of losing her breakfast every day could only mean one thing, but the box that rested in that drawer carried with it a burden that she didn't believe she was ready to carry just yet.

"Hey babe, you okay in there?" She jerked her head up to the door as a fresh wave of cold sick rolled up through her body. Nino, her husband of nearly a year, and the one who kept her going late at night when she wanted nothing more than to give up on a story and curl up in their bed for the foreseeable future, was worried about the recent developments in her daily routine. She knew that his worries would only grow the longer she waited to utilize what she had bought only the day before, but just thinking of testing made her body freeze in fear and her blood run cold. She wasn't ready.

"I'm fine now," she called out after taking a moment to catch her breath, "I- I gotta get ready. I'm needed in the office this morning." She stood as she finished her explanation to her husband and reached for the orange toothbrush waiting for her by the sink. She scrubbed away the foul taste in her mouth before pulling her long ombre brown and pink hair into a tight bun.

"You've been feeling sick all week now," the dark skinned amber eyed man had not waited any longer to open the door and make his way into the bathroom. He joined her at the sink and placed his hand against her forehead to feel for a temperature that she knew would not be there. He frowned at his findings, knowing his wife would not stay home, even if he asked her to, without a good reason to. He watched as she reached into her makeup case to retrieve the pallet for her face and felt himself frowning at the sight. She hummed a bit as she applied some deep browns to her eyelids before catching a glimpse of the look on his face in the mirror.

"Look, today is important, I'm cleaning up that Chat Noir piece which is front page stuff." She shrugged as she explained her plans to a still frowning Nino, "I promise that after today I will take it easy for a bit and even go out on that date we have been planning forever." She leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to apply her lipstick.

"I just want you to take better care of yourself love, you've been so stressed over this story and it seems to me like it's affecting you physically." He moved to wrap his arms around her waist as he spoke, and accentuated his words with a sweet lingering kiss on her temple.

"It's just temporary babe." She assured him as she turned in his arms to drape her own over his shoulders. She gave him a sweet as honey smile as she leaned in close to him, "I promise, you'll see." she gave him a playful wink before brushing her lips against his own in a chaste kiss. He groaned dramatically as she tried to pull away and held her a bit tighter against himself.

"How long do you have to work today anyways?" he asked in a voice almost high pitched enough to be a wine as she giggled in his arms.

"Well, at least until after lunch, I promised to eat with Mari on her first day of University." She answered as she continued her giggling fit, his fingers brushed along her most ticklish spots, not helping her situation at all.

"oh, yeah, today's her first day isn't it?" He asked as he finally ceased his attack on her sides. She snorted as his fingers stilled and rested her forehead against his chest.

"Yes, that's today. You can come if you want," She teased, knowing full well what his answer would be before the words even left his lips.

"Yeah, fuck that. I love you, and I love Mari, but when the two of you together it gets a bit trying. I'm not looking to swim in a sea of estrogen today." They both laughed joyously at his words as she slapped his chest playfully. After that moment they settled into their peaceful morning rituals. Nino styled his short afro carefully in the mirror of the bathroom while Alya laid out a few outfits on the foot of their bed to pick from. He threw on a loose fitting polo shirt and a pair of deep green trousers. While she chose an easy to manage classic orange sun dress that Marinette herself had made her for her birthday. They both moved on to their kitchen, where they smiled fondly at one another over their cups of coffee. Alya packed her laptop into her tote bag along with some handwritten notes on what she wanted to add to the story before sending it off for final edits. Nino gave her a swift kiss on the forehead before moving to their living room to go over the latest mix for the club that he may as well be a co-owner of at this point, while Alya prepared him a quick lunch he could reheat when he got hungry later. With a lovingly called goodbye to one another, Alya was out of their apartment and well on her way to work.

Work was . . . hectic. They were the biggest paper in Paris and extremely busy with negotiations between a high influence fashion company to merge the news with fashion into one two page article. Alya could only guess at who would end up with that article, she certainly wasn't interested in the position. However, there were many young ladies in the office that had a silly crush on the rumored "god-like hottie" who ran the company. Her position on covering the more politically charged and well named "Hero watch" was all she truly cared about, and the article that she had nearly completed for her page had her practically skipping past the gaggle of women whispering about the fashion company CEO. Their excitement brought memories of her best friend in their youth to her mind.

With her thoughts now firmly on her promised lunch with Marinette, she slid into the computer chair before her desk and spun herself in a short half circle as a wide smile played across her lips. She had all but forgotten the sickness she had suffered through earlier in the morning as thoughts of a nice lunch at the hotel her mother had worked as a chef at for years filled her mind. She pondered what she would order as she pulled her laptop from her bag and set it up in the center of her desk, realigning the photo of Nino, Marinette, and herself on her wedding day idly as she did so.

"You seem awfully chipper today." she turned to see the deeply tanned and brunette pigtailed young teen who had called out to her.

"Manon!" she exclaimed as she relaxed further into her chair, "you aren't skipping out on a school day to hang out with little 'ole me are you?" The question was followed with a playful wink that brought a smile to the young girls lips big enough to show off the still prevalent large front teeth that had made her so adorable ever since she was a very young child. Manon had begun to show an interest in writing the year before, and had even won a coveted spot as an intern in Alyas office over the summer.

"You still have another week with me Uni." Manon gave her a playful wink as she called her by a nickname she had somehow given herself way back when she was the same age as her intern was now. Alya could feel the smile spreading across her cheeks at the memory that the name brought with it. With a drawn out, clearly only for dramatic effect, yawn, Alya turned to boot up her laptop. Then waved for Manon to pull up a chair so they could go over what she had written together. She had heard the rumors of the other interns jealousy over Manon's relationship to her, but she also knew that this girl learned best one on one. She loved at least thinking she was helping Alya out with her work.

"Chat Noir still? I thought you were done with this story already." Manon raised her brow at Alya as the reporter pulled up the document that was still being worked on.

"Remember what I told you last week, many drafts make a great story." Alya smirked as she was reminded of the same mantra she had been taught when she was an intern. They shared a smile between themselves as she rummaged in her bag for her notes. "Now, see here how I hint at his past accomplishments that were his and his alone, I went back and actually scrolled through the entirety of my old Ladyblog to find each and every instance where he had to save the day alone, or do the majority of the heavy lifting to allow Ladybug to get near enough to cleanse the akuma, I even looked through my side blogs for instances of them just saving the day without akumas and found everything he had done alone. Now what I have to do is narrow these notes down to a few that really show off his heroism," she explained as she pointed at her shorthand covered papers. "Then I need to pick the best ones out of that list that show off not only his skill, but his humanity, to really show all of Paris that he's just a normal human, albeit with a cool suit."

"I wouldn't say that." They both turned to a very male sounding voice and Alya felt her eyes widen at the familiar face she was met with. Emerald green eyes and a kind smile was the first two features her brain locked onto, the next was the short ponytail of soft blonde hair that was pulled back to keep his hair out of his face. "He also has that cataclysm thing, right?" He asked as he reached up to scratch at the spot just below his low ponytail.

"Adrien, I'll be damned." She quirked her eyebrow at the sight of him, causing him to shove his hands nervously into the pockets of his military styled black jacket. "I was sure you had died when you didn't show up at the wedding, I know Nino had thought you must have at least been comatose, since you know, you two were inseparable to the point that we had some concerns." He chuckled at her words and brought one hand out of its pocket to rub at his neck slowly.

"You would be surprised how much time you lose when you're both a CEO and a medical student." He explained shyly as his eyes locked onto a plant by her desk. She followed his line of sight as she ignored her interns obvious starstruck look and returned her eyes to his face as his words sank into her mind.

"Wait, boy, you're telling me you run your own company already?" She asked as she sat a bit straighter in her chair, she knew he was well off due to the money his heinous father had saved up through the years, but she never thought he would use that money to build a company of his own.

"Uh, y-yeah. I remade father's old fashion company. It was a part of my mom's dream too so it just felt wrong to let it turn to ash. Not to mention the hundreds of people who would've been out of a job if I didn't do something about it." He shrugged as he spoke, seeming more like a meek little boy explaining why he did something wrong than a CEO of a major fashion line that reigned over the Parisian fashion scene.

So, he hadn't made it from scratch…

"I can see where you're coming from." She offered after the awkward silence had stretched on a bit too long, "I don't remember seeing Gabriels billboards around town though."

"Ah, that's because there aren't any." He seemed a bit more open as he spoke this time, pulling his hands from his pockets to rest one on the desk he stood beside casually, "I renamed the company, its just Agreste Fashion now." He gave her a short shrug as he spoke, showing her once again that he was relaxing into the conversation. Which was all well and good, but there were other things more important on her mind than an old school friend she hadn't spoken to in ages.

"Marinette is going to start her own company as well you know," Alya's attention was drawn to Manon, who seemed to have snapped out of her previous state at hearing how someone got her old babysitters dream just handed to them on a silver platter. Her arms were crossed before her chest and her cheeks puffed out like a furious little chipmunk. Usually joy filled her eyes, but now they were narrowed and filled with a cold anger that made itself known without her having to speak a single word.

"I can't wait to work with her when she does, Mari always had the best designs, in my opinion, even back in the day." His words seemed only to help fan the flame of her anger. Manon was strongly loyal to Marinette and believed in her dreams almost more than she believed in her own. Alya felt that this fact said something important about just how kind and true her best friend really was. She also felt that she should get this blonde male to move on as soon as possible before her intern blew a fuse.

Thankfully, she didn't have to think of a clever scheme to get rid of him without being rude.

A soft piano song echoed out from his pocket and he gave them both an apologetic smile as he shoved his hand into it to retrieve his phone. One look at his face told her he was not very happy about whoever was on the other end of the line. His lips pulled into a thin line and his brows had knitted nearly together and his eyes narrowed at whatever he saw on the screen. He glanced up at Alya once again as the song continued to play and chuckled in an odd, nervous manner before motioning to the device that had offended him so.

"Sorry, I have to take this." He stated before looking down at the phone once again and swiping his thumb across the screen. "Hello, yes, hi Abigail." Adrien turned his back to them as he spoke with a tired sigh that worked its way into his tone. "No, I want to look through them all myself. It's important to me that I see each and every candidates work." Alya noticed him scratching below his small ponytail once again as he spoke and raised her brow when his shoulders slumped and a huff dripping with agitation rolled forth from him. "Look, just put all of them on my desk. I finished my meeting already and can be there in fifteen. Good. See you then." He hung up on this "Abigail" with another huff before turning back to Alya once again. "Sorry, I have some business to attend to. Send Nino my love okay?" He asked, reminding her of a puppy dog with the way his eyes grew wide and hopeful for her reaction.

"I can't promise that, he's a taken man and that wife of his is a force to be reckoned with." She smiled at the polite joke as he, in turn, let out a short chuckle.

"I'm sure it will be okay." He seemed to gain his sense of time when his eyes traveled up to the large clock at the back of the office. His friendly smile slipped a bit as he returned his gaze to his now dark and lifeless phone, "I'll see you around Alya." He added before turning and leaving the two women sitting at the desk. He hadn't waited for her reply, so he was either in a serious rush or he had lost a bit of the politeness he was known for when they went to school together.

"He was rude." Manon huffed, looking over much of the conversation in her need to validate her past babysitters journey to become a famous designer herself.

"Probably stressed, come on." Alya hummed as she turned back to her laptop, "let's get to work on this so I can go to lunch on time today." Without another word on the subject of Adrien or his strange actions, they dived headfirst into the story that she planned on turning in by lunch that day.

* * *

The bell that rang through the halls of her new school sounded akin to those of Notre Dame. Chiming the next class in a cheery tone that made her lips pull into a smile and her steps to take on a skip to their pace. Marinette has never been happier to be in an institution of learning than she was after her previous class. Her first two had been on the basics of fashion theory and the history of art, but she was finally headed to the class that would allow her to physically create something with the knowledge that the last two had given her. So, even when she bumped into the back of the tall brunette male, the smile still didn't leave her cheeks, even as they both bent down in unison to retrieve her scattered school supplies that now littered the floor around them.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I'm just so excited." She explained without looking up at him. She just felt so right being in this school that it was hard for her to even feel like she was supposed to be embarrassed. The brunette for his part, gave her a soft chuckle as he scooped up her large portfolio-like-sketch pad and held it out to her.

"It's fine," He assured her around a warm smile of his own, " it must be your first day huh?" She looked up into his warm brown eyes and he made a motion to emphasize the smile still prevalent on her face, "I remember being the same way last year. It's exciting isn't it?"

"Oh," she took a moment to try to get the large goofy smile under control. It was a fruitless effort, "is it that obvious?" she asked as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear shyly. He finished gathering her scattered pens and tucked them into her waiting hands before resting his own gently on her shoulders. His warm smile caused small wrinkles to spread out from the corners of his eyes as he studied her face with a open interest.

"It's totally fine, refreshing even. After you're here a while, everyone gets so competitive that it's a little disheartening." He waved his hands about as he spoke in a very active manner that caused her to giggle and hide the lower half of her face behind her large sketch pad. His cheeks took on a light dusting of pink as his right hand reached up to rub at the side of his neck slowly. He looked like a teddy bear, sweet, approachable, and with a pair of eyes that drew you in and made you feel safer than you had before you looked into them. She found herself leaning towards him without pondering her actions and smiling even broader with each chuckle that fell from his lips. If everyone at ESMOD was like this young man, she could see her school life going VERY smoothly.

"What class do you have next?" He asked suddenly, pulling her from her thoughts of that smile and back into the present. She blinked away her ideas of a not so far away future and studied his face as she searched her mind for an answer to his question. Distractions had made her mind a blank slate, but he was looking at her expectantly and she knew that the answer should have been a simple one to tell.

"Oh, uh, um…" she stumbled over her own words as she struggled to get something out, "next is uh, um…" Finally giving up on her mental olympics, she felt a moment of relief when a thought surfaced from the mire that had become her mind, "I have Intro to Pattern Cutting next." She mumbled the words as she read them off from the sticker on her book.

"Hey, me too. I skipped it my first year to catch up on some academic courses." His energetic explanation sent a fresh set of giggles falling from her lips as she hugged her supplies to her chest and met his gaze. He took her reaction in stride and gave her a playful wink as a lopsided smirk played on his lips. He bowed slightly to her and offered her his bent elbow as he stood to his full height. Her eyes widened slightly as his locked onto them, full of something she couldn't quite place.

"Can I walk you to your class, my lady?"

Her heart stopped for a moment at his words. Words that she hadn't heard in years, words that she forced herself not to seek out for the sheer shame of how long she had avoided the one who used them so casually with her. She took a moment to study the man before her with a bit more care. His hair was fluffy like Chats, but it fell in a odd angle about his head compared to the black clad superheroes. His warm brown eyes looked the same shape, but nowhere near the same intensity of the emerald green hues that would burn their way into her soul whenever he glanced her way. The smirk was similar, but something about it she couldn't quite place was just off about it. No, it had to be a coincidence that he used those words, a simple coincidence that he had no clue he was tearing her apart on the inside.

"S-s, um, uh, sure." she finally managed to speak after she paused for just a bit too long, this time from a different kind of distraction, and his brows raised in confusion. Flashing him as sweet of a smile as she could manage, she placed her hand on the bend of his elbow and nodded to tell him she was ready to go. He had a skip to his step as they weaved themselves through the crowd of bodies in the hallway. The air about him becoming infectious as they continued through the campus,so infectious in fact, that they were both laughing at nothing until the time they stepped into the room.

It felt like the sound of a pin drop could equate to a canon going off, the room fell into complete silence as everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the pair who stood awkwardly just inside the doorway. Her companions warm smile fell into a thin line as he looked around at all the paired groups scattered about the room at random workstations. She could see the stress causing beads of sweat to pop up along his forehead as he took in the sight. Her heart went out to his turmoil, clearly he was worried that the obviously partnered class would leave him working alone for the year, she decided to set his mind at ease.

"Hey, how about we partner up this semester?" She asked with her head tilted slightly to the side as she glanced up at his face. She could see him snap out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice and glanced down at her as his lopsided smirk returned to his lips. The light that was in his eyes before was slowly returning to them the longer that they held each other's stares. She liked seeing him that way far more than how he looked just a moment before...

"You don't even know my name." He chuckled as he leaned in to whisper the words in her ear.

"You don't know mine either." She giggled as she pulled back to get a good look at his face once again. He scrunched up his nose as he took a moment to ponder their situation before looking around the room once again at all the strange faces.

"I'm Michal." After a long silence he finally introduced himself to her. Her hand slipped into his offered one, he kissed the back of it lightly as a shy smile pulled her lips up towards her eyes.

"Marinette, nice to meet you Michal." She replied with a playful wink. His own smile pulled his teeth apart slightly as they shook hands firmly.

"Marinette, pleasure to meet you, partner." His words had memories pulling at the back of her mind once again, memories of a blonde with blazing green eyes who could handle a fight better than she could most of the time, yet was still humble enough to claim she was the real hero between them.

"Y-yeah." She forced herself to reply to him. She had to turn away from him in order to discreetly blink away the tears stinging the corners of her eyes, Chat was better off without her. He had moved on by now certainly, and probably had a new partner who helped him from the sidelines, plus a string of lovers behind him that made her years at his side barely a blimp on his emotional radar.

They moved as a pair to the nearest empty workstation they could find and settled into their seats just as the professor strode into the room with a phone placed firmly against her ear and a no nonsense frown upon her liver spotted face. She hung the phone up without looking at her quiet as the grave students and began going into a practiced monologue on the importance of a proper pattern cut and how one little miss-measurement could throw the entire project off. Marinette attempted to listen, but her eyes were constantly drawn to the notebook of the young man beside her. He was sketching out casual dresses with soft pok-a-dots along the bottom of the skirt and the rim of the neckline. It was a beautiful design, with a sheer covering to the skirt and soft pearl like lace around the shoulders that accentuated the dots that lined it on the other side. Three large buttons lead down from midway up the chest to the skirt that forced your eye to notice how it flared out around the models legs. He was talented, and the way his brow furrowed and his tongue jutted out from between his teeth showed that he loved what he did enough to give it his full concentration. She wondered if she looks like that when she was immersed in her own work as she rested her cheek on her fist idly. A smile played on her lips as she watched him work, her mind drifting away from the monotone voice of their professor and zoning in on the sound of his pencil led scratching lightly against the paper as he worked.

That sound could make everything else simply fall away….

* * *

 _ **Chapter one: End**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**SPOILER WARNING: If you have not watched season two and do not want to be spoiled please come back and read this after the first twelve episodes are added to netflix. I have quite a few hints of that season scattered about this chapter and I wasn't aware just how bad it was until a good friend pointed them out to me. I am sorry for the delay and now back to your regularly scheduled fanfiction.**_

* * *

"There you are!" Alya called out as she approached the small round table that Marinette was sitting at. The future designer had her head bent forward and her hand constantly moving as she added bits and pieces here and there along an intricate design she was sketching out, in a much smaller sketchbook than she used for school. Her head shot up at the sound of her best friends voice and a wide smile crept across her lips when they made eye contact. Alya could tell just by looking at her that she had had a good first day at university, she was practically glowing from the excitement that her eyes flashed with as she gave the reporter a once over.

"Hey Alya, love the dress." Marinette gave her a smirk as Alya slid into the chair directly across from her. The bespeckled woman chuckled as she adjusted her glasses and motioned to her friends three piece ensemble.

"I could say the same for you girl, check you out. Rocking the colors of Paris' resident superhero for some added confidence?" Alya wiggled her eyebrows at Marinette who looked down at her green and black outfit as a swift chill washed through her body from her head down to her toes. Her lighthearted smile slipped into a small frown as her hand clenched tightly to her drawing pencil. How had she not even thought about wearing Chat Noirs colors that morning? She had been riding her high of the first day back at school long enough for that fact to completely slip her mind.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Alya gave her a heartwarming smile as the young design student returned her attention to the sketchbook before herself. Marinette didn't look up at her best friend as she used her thick fringe to hide the fact that she was blinking away the tears that were suddenly stinging the edges of her eyes. She thought she was moving on when the thought of Chat earlier that day didn't have her breaking apart on the inside. However, if the amount of pain that was washing through her heart was anything to go on, she was clearly using the excitement of her first day at school to suppress it.

"Is that homework?" Alya's voice brought her out of her thoughts nearly as quickly as it had shocked her into them.

"Huh,"Marinette began as she shook her head to clear it, "o-oh, um. Not really, it's just something that a friend inspired me to do today." She mumbled as she added a bit of piping to a jacket she had drawn on a model.

"Don't you tell me another girl's swooping in to take my place." Alya joked as she waved over a server who was walking past a table a few feet away from them. Marinette barely even looked up at her friend before answering her.

"No one could ever replace you Alya, but no it's not a girl. It's a boy actually." She knew what would come next and braced herself for the onslaught of questions from the reporter. When none came she looked up slowly to see Alya nodding her head towards the approaching server. They waited politely as the young woman read out the specials, then placed their orders before smiling as she walked away from them.

"A boy?" Alya raised her eyebrows once they were alone, Marinette sighed and scooted down in her chair a bit as she nodded in return. She should have known that the reporter in her wouldn't let that small comment slide. The smile on Alya's lips was enough to tell her that she was in for an interview and a half on the new male in her life.

"Look, it's not a big deal okay. He's just partnering with me for one class, and he's nice and a really good designer." She looked down at the design that remained half finished before her as she spoke, "He spent all last class designing this beautiful dress and, I don't know, it inspired me to make a suit to match." She frowned at the black three piece suit she had drawn and studied the piping around the shoulders. Her eyes wandered from the image to her best friends face and she groaned at the intense smile that she found there. The questions were many, and intense; going from his full name, which she did not know, to his favorite color, which she was pretty sure was red but she didn't really know if she was right. She spent so long answering Alya's questions that their orders came and were eaten long before the reporter was finished.

"You know, back in the day there was another boy who 'inspired' you." Marinette hid her face in her hands as she shook her head quickly. It had been so long since she moved on from her childhood crush, but Alya never once missed an opportunity to bring up how crazy she was over him. "Speaking of which, I ran into Adrien today at the office."

"What?" Marinette's head shot up so quickly that it hurt her neck a bit. She may no longer have a wild crush on him, but she did still know a bit about the former model and new star of the fashion scene.

"Yeah, he had a meeting with the higher ups and I dunno, I guess he wanted to pop by to say hello. Did you know he Is running his dad's old company now?" Alya seemed oblivious to the amazed look in Marinette's eyes as she spoke.

"Of course I know that!" She exclaimed, "Alya, come on I live for fashion and Agreste Fashion built itself back up to the number one fashion company in all of Paris!" Her eyes were sparkling in such a way as she spoke that Alya felt as if she was looking back through time to when they were just fourteen.

"You still keep up with him?" Alya asked slyly. The question didn't seem to affect Marinette in quite the same way that it use to however, as she simply shrugged and took a sip of her tea.

"I keep up with lots of fashion companies, all the best ones, to see how I should go about starting my own once I'm out of school." She explained afterwards. As she spoke she packed away her sketchbook and pencils without glancing up once. The girls finished off their drinks as they checked the time on their phones. Marinette had to get back to school before her next class began and Alya had to finish up the final edits on her article before the day was over. They each pitched in for a tip to the server before paying and leaving the small cafe.

Their walk started off normal enough. The two old friends laughed about silly things that they had done in the past and simply reminisced about things that would matter to no one else. The day was beautiful and the sights of Paris around them in such a lovely light made the girls feel as if they were walking on clouds. Thoughts of Andre's famous ice cream and jokes about what they would pick for their own flavors passed between them as they waited at a red light and watched the cars pass by them quickly. They were so in their own little bubble that they could feel a sudden pop in their minds when the screaming began. Alya reached out for Marinette's hand as the design student whipped her body around quickly to search for the sound.

A man wearing dark clothes from his hoodie down to his boots was running at them, in one hand he held a woman's purse but the other was hidden in the deep pocket on the front of his hoodie. Alya froze at the sight, but Marinette seemed to be awoken by it. She moved quickly to push her friend out of his way, landing beside the reporter as her head jerked back to where they had been standing, and where the man was running into the oncoming traffic. Before Alya could stop her, she leapt upwards and ran behind the man, sliding across car hoods and dodging bikes as she made her way to the other side of the street.

The rush of adrenaline coursing through her helped speed her pace enough to get within ten feet of him before she rounded a corner into a dark alleyway. She could hear Tikki faintly asking her what she was doing but chose to ignore the Kwami's words. She had spent years hearing about how she was Ladybug no matter if she wore a mask or not, and something was so... off, about this man that it had her feeling like she was facing down an akuma once again. Muscle memory kicked in as she slid into the alley after him and leapt quickly over a dumpster before running across it's closed lid. With a carefully timed jump, she flung herself from a ladder hanging from a fire escape and arched her body through the air to land with her legs wrapped around the man's neck.

Their bodies landed with a squishy thud as his stomach disturbed a smelly puddle below them. She managed to pin his shoulders down with her own body as she struggled to pry the purse's strap from his fingers. He shifted from side to side below her, eventually finding enough leverage to throw her small frame off of him, but not enough force to cause her to loosen her grip on the strap. The momentum of her being thrown from his shoulders flipped him around to where they were facing one another. His hand that had previously been hiding in his pocket slid out then, and a flash of silver brought her attention to the handgun that he held in it. Her eyes widened as she stared down the barrel before her gaze slowly drifted up to his face.

She had been shot before, both of them had, but they were always in their suits which sped the healing process due to the magic of the miraculous and their kwamis. Staring at the slightly trembling gun now made her blood freeze in her veins. She had nothing between her and certain death if his finger so much as twitched in the slightest amount. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, telling her that he was either deranged or drugged to the point that he wouldn't think twice about blowing a hole between her eyes.

"There he is officer!" Both of the ones in the alley jerked their heads towards the opening of it to see Alya pointing directly at them with two large police officers standing right behind her. The man seemed frozen in fear, giving Marinette time to wrench the gun from his hand and slam the butt end of it into his cheek to knock him out. She stood, after struggling for a moment to wring the bag strap from his fingers and made her way to the mouth of the alley.

"Please get this back to its owner." She said as she handed the purse to the first officer, she turned to the second one and all too eagerly passed the gun to him. A short conversation between the four later and the girls were back on the way to Marinette's school with a new darker aura hanging around them. Alya had questioned her on how she caught up with the man, to which she replied that she had been taking karate off and on since she was very young. The reporter made a face that told her she didn't quite believe the explanation, but thankfully she finally let something slide.

Marinette kept her head down as they walked, thinking over what had happened just a few moments before. It was all so fast, she had no time to think and had depended on instincts that she had suppressed for years. So, why was she suddenly eager to chase down an armed robber instead of staying with her friend to make sure she was alright? She had ignored crimes before with little to no effort over the years, blending into crowds as she watched her old partner and best friend taking down the bad guys all alone. Maybe it was the fact that he was nowhere in sight, or maybe it was simply the rush of chemicals that she had been riding high on all day. Either way, the thought of her actions had her stomach swirling with a mix of fear and excitement that would have no outlet to be released in until she got home. It had her thoughts circling wildly in her head as she said her farewells to her best friend and slowly moved towards the main campus building of her school. Her hands were still shaking, so she gripped the strap of her messenger bag firmly to hide that fact from everyone around her.

"Mari, hey!" she turned in time to see Michal rushing past a large group of people and directly at her with a large smile filling his face.

"Hi, did you have a good lunch hour?" She asked as he came to a stop before her and scratched behind his ear. The smile was still there, and seemed to be even wider than before she spoke.

"Actually, yeah. Went out to drink with a few friends from last year. Jealous?" He asked this as he nudged her shoulder playfully with his arm. Her eyebrows shot up, and then down as confusion set in. Why would she be jealous of him hanging out with some friends? They literally met a few hours before. The way he was acting seemed so out of left field that she felt herself shying away from his touch.

"Not, really." She said as she took a step back and adjusted the strap of her bag, "I had a nice meal with an old school friend myself." She added as she watched a group of students pass by them.

"Is the old friend a boy?" His sudden lack of laughter behind his words had her narrowing her eyes.

"No, not that it matters anyway." She mumbled as she backed away from him and into a throng of students leading into the building, she ran once he was out of sight, slipping between bodies and cutting down side hallways in order to escape him.

Once she was fully alone however, it dawned on her how oddly she was acting. He was just being friendly, possibly trying to get to know her as a person, and she just treated him like he had some terrible disease or something. She groaned as she hid her head in her hands and shook it from side to side, she was the weird one. He should've been running away from her.

* * *

"It's not all that bad. You can just tell him you're sorry in the morning right?" Tikki asked as she watched Marinette pacing around her small apartment. The blackish blue haired young woman groaned as she flipped down on her surprisingly soft loveseat. She had avoided Michal the rest of the school day, mainly out of embarrassment that came from her running away for no reason the first time. She just couldn't face him after the initial disaster of their meeting after lunch.

"I feel like a jerk." Marinette stated as she reached for the remote to her small t.v. and turning it on to the news channel. It was a habit of hers, keeping her eyes on the news to watch out for her old partner in her own small way. He was there, of course he was, there had been a break in at the bank that the mayor himself used and Paris' favorite black cat had swooped in to stop it before any real damage could be done. She found herself smiling at a still image of his face, complete with his signature smirk and acid green eyes. He was a true hero, kind and patient, and even extending that out to the ones he fought against daily. She remembered the day that she found out he had been shot in a hostage situation and how even then he was still the pillar of good for the city…

It was the day before Alya's wedding and she had been elbow deep in white lace as she struggled to resize her best friend's dress in time for the big event. Her t.v. had been on so Tikki could dance to a music video that was playing for a special event going on somewhere across Paris. She remembered the room going eerily quiet and her kwami's soft gasp. She zoned in on the small t.v. as her own eyes widened in shock.

Chat, her Chat, was struggling against a gunman just inside of the glass front doors of the building that the hostages were being held in. She watched in complete silence as he swung out with his baton to strike the man in the jaw. In that moment a loud bang filled her apartment and she watched him crumple. She screamed and rushed to the small screen that let her see what was happening. She held the side of it so hard that her knuckles were turning white as her eyes locked onto the pixels that made up his body. SWAT had moved in at the sound of the gun going off, and she couldn't see what happened to chat for a heartstopping moment before a flash of black and silver on the side of the screen told her he had gotten away to take care of his wounds.

Marinette was halfway across the city and running along rooftops before she came to her senses and stopped short of a jump that would show all of Paris her, as Ladybug once again. The strength it took for her to turn back was the same as a dagger in her heart, ripping it in two pieces while keeping it painfully in her chest. She was crying so hard by the time she forced her body to turn back towards her home that the world around her was blurred and shifted with every blink of her eyes. Chat was long gone, she knew that he would be somewhere in the back of her mind, but still she had let her emotions take over. It was the one thing she swore to herself she would not do when she decided to let go of that part of her life. It was for his well being as well as her own and yet one simple attack by regular humans going wrong had her donning her spots once again. She couldn't do this to herself or to him. Not after all the time she had spent hiding, no, coming back after that would be cruel.

She had called multiple hospitals that night to check on her old partner, all of them laughed her off with the thought that she was just another Chat Noir fangirl who wanted to find out where he was. Their tones told her that he wasn't at any of them however and she spent the rest of the night, and most of the wedding the next day, worrying about the safety of one of her best friends.

"Marinette?" Tikki's voice pulled her from her reverie, and back into the present. The news was still covering Chat, and had managed to stop him for an interview. She smiled as she noted that wasn't very hard since he stopped using his cataclysm at every given opportunity.

"Mr. Noir, you work alone during your heroic feats, would you ever make room for a partner in your team?" One of the newer reporters asked as he held a channel 7 microphone up to Chat's face.

"I have a partner, she's always with me in my heart and if she ever decides to return to Paris I will welcome her back with open arms." She frowned at his response, Chat was obviously one of the many who picked up on Alya's theory that Ladybug moved from Paris when she retired. It was possibly the only way that he could deal with her absence.

She sighed as she aimed the remote at the t.v. and cut the power off. Her eyes trailed over to her kwami who was hovering near her, slightly in front of her shoulder. Her large blue eyes were fixed on Marinette's face as she looked for any reaction to what they had just seen, no matter how slight.

"His hair's gotten longer." Marinette cracked a small smile as she watched Tikki roll her eyes at her words. She knew that showing up at this point would just bring more questions than she had answers to, it was just easier for her to stay out of her mask. As Marinette the only questions she had to answer were what she was asked in school.

"He misses you." Tikki murmured as she settled on her chosen's shoulder.

"I abandoned him Tikki." She grunted as she bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, "If I showed back up as Ladybug now he would have questions, and anger that I would not be able to say was unwarranted."

"If you just explain to him why you left.." Tikki began.

"Oh yeah, that'll work. Hi Chat, I know I have been gone for years but it was because I felt like you were starting to take all the hits for me and against akumas that was fine because my lucky charm could clear the damage. But, actual humans with weapons and no magical brainwashing badguy to pull the strings scared me to the point that I had to go to therapy for three years just to sleep normally again." She dragged out her sentences just to drive home the point that she thought it would not go well at all.

"Chat would understand." Tikki urged as Marinette pushed herself off of the couch and headed towards her small bathroom.

"I doubt it." Was her reply as she closed the door. Tikki sighed as she fazed through the wood to see the young design student preparing her toothbrush.

"What are you so afraid of?" Tikki asked as she crossed her arms before her chest, "I know that that boy would move heaven and earth for you. He's helped you as both Ladybug and Marinette without fail over and over again."

"And what if he does welcome me back?" Marinette slammed her toothbrush against the counter before her as she shouted the question. "He would end up in the same exact position he was in before, with one eye on the bad guys and one on my back and no time between to move out of the way. I have seen him take hit after hit for me that he would have been able to avoid otherwise and I cannot hold that guit anymore Tikki, I can't." She could feel warm tears slip down her cheeks as her voice began to break. "He's better off alone." she sniffed and rubbed her nose with her wrist before focusing on brushing her teeth, the conversation was over. Tikki knew that she wouldn't listen to any facts other than the ones that grew from her own thoughts. They had many talks like this over the years and her chosen's fears always seemed to come out on top whenever they ended.

The night carried on much like any other, Marinette got ready for bed while Tikki waited in front of the now turned off tv. She was busy eating a cookie when her chosen walked into the living room with a towel wrapped around her body and another tightly wrapped around her hair. She gave the kwami a small awkward smile as she moved her hands over the towel on her hair, squeezing in in hopes of the dark blue black tresses drying faster than if she let them dry by themselves. She sat on the edge of the couch as Tikki finished her cookie and waited until the centuries old god being looked up from her meal before she spoke.

"I don't want to get his hopes up." She began finally, "I can't go back to being the Ladybug everyone remembers, and I can't be the Ladybug he wants. Chat, he… he was always the stronger of us. He even managed to hold off so many akuma clones on his own the first time I gave Alya Trixx's miraculous." Tikki was sitting on her knee now, looking up at her with large blue eyes that had always assured her it would be okay. Everything didn't end up okay though, a childhood friend lost his father due to a plotting evil alter ego, she lost her will to join a trusted partner after her existence in their daily battles began to feel like a distraction, and now when she was trying so hard to get her life back on track after years of hiding away from the world in an attempt to forget it all and give herself some peace… well, now the guilt of leaving him behind to face the bad guys alone was punching her in the gut and making her feel as if she may as well shot him herself.

"Marinette-" Tikki began, only to be cut off when her chosen held her hand up and lowered her head.

"I know, I know that I said never again. Then I transformed just to run away before I could be of help to anyone." Marinette took a moment to collect her thoughts as she glanced up at the framed picture of her, Alya, and Nino at their wedding, the one that she had placed on a shelf just off to the right of her tv and surrounded by brightly colored silk flowers that pulled people's attention to it. She could see the fear hiding behind her fake smile, even in the small image, That day would forever be a bittersweet memory with the knowledge that Chat was somewhere suffering alone while she played the part of a simple civilian. "There are so many things I will never be able to take back, moments when i could have helped but didn't, and... even if Chat doesn't hold a grudge against me for them, I do. I don't deserve to be Ladybug anymore, it wouldn't be fair to me or to Chat."

"Marinette, I understand your fears. But, I have watched you all these years, you've done so much good for everyone, you stopped Hawkmoth after all. I think, if you put your heart into it you can do anything. That includes being Ladybug once again. However," Tikki flew up to pat her cheek in a comforting manner as she continued, "I also know full well that everyone needs to go about things at their own pace. You are a wonderful person Marinette, you just need to take your time and figure out what you want. You and Chat, both of you gave your childhood to defend the city with all your heart and soul. No one should fault you for taking some time to be yourself after that."

"I blame myself though Tikki." Marinette cupped one hand around Tikki's head as she spoke softly. Her eyes were downcast and her lips were formed into a small frown. "I was scared when I ran away from the mask, and I am still scared now but, but now it's more than that. I feel like I don't deserve to be Ladybug again." She sighed deeply as her eyes slid closed. "I'm sorry Tikki." She felt the gentle pressure of her kwami nuzzling her cheek and leaned into it. In the end, Tikki was the only one she could ever confide her feelings to. No one else in her life would ever know how heavily her past weighed on her, no one else would be privy to her moments of weakness that reduced her to a shadow of her former self until she simply hid from everyone, even herself.

"Let's go to bed, you'll feel a bit better in the morning." Tikki offered, she knew there was nothing she could say to change Marinette's mind, but she was determined to try to make her feel better about herself nonetheless. Sometimes a good night's sleep could make the darkest thoughts fade, not go away completely, but fade. All she could hope after the years spent with Marinette as simply Marinette was the weight of the past lifting even the slightest bit from the girls shoulders.

"Yeah, sleep sounds good right now." Marinette agreed with a small and forced smile.

* * *

The early morning sunlight filtered in through thin pea green curtains that adorned large gothic windows around Adrien's office. He had been awake all night, and it showed in the thick bags under his eyes. The run in with Alya, which looking back he really should have seen coming, had his mind running in circles around Nino, and Marinette. Nino had always been the one he considered his first best friend since escaping the cage of homeschooling, and Marinette had been one of the first friends he made all by himself. He had missed the wedding, which he was supposed to be the best man during, and he had missed the party that Alya threw for Marinette when she was accepted into ESMOD. He had missed the hang outs with their old group and slowly had grown out of even trying to make it to them. All of this was due to his nightlife as Chat Noir.

He still remembered being shot the day before Nino and Alya's wedding; he was on his way to the bar to meet his best friend for his stag night when the sound of shouting and gunshots had pulled him to a side street. A glass fronted building gave him a clear view of the hostage situation going on inside. He had jumped into action, finding somewhere hidden to transform and rushing into the fray. The police were more than happy to send him in instead of them, and at first it seemed that the ones who held their hostages at gunpoint would listen to what he had to say and lay down their arms. Then there was a scuffle, he was in a fight with the one nearest the doors while the second one screamed at him not to come closer or he would blow a woman's head off. He didn't remember hearing the gun going off by his hip, but the pain had him doubling over and even returned as he thought over the past. It caused him to hunch over his desk and his breaths to come out heavy and strained as his hand moved to cover the area that had long since healed.

Plagg, sitting in a small chair that Adrien had ordered just for him that rested on the former models desk, silently watched his chosen as waves of phantom pain washed through him. Adrien knew that it was all in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't resist giving in to it. Neither of the two could stop his thoughts circling around to that day. Plagg had been weak due to a rise in crime and a shortage of camembert, so his healing had been at its lowest and at the same time the suit had been as good as a piece of paper on Adriens skin. The bullet was felt by Plagg before the scorching hot pain registered in Adrien's mind. The kwami blamed himself for these lingering psychological effects that remained in his chosen. It was something he could never forgive himself for, he just could never bring himself to say no to the blonde when it came to transforming. It had been and still remained the boys way of escaping his suffocating life.

"You okay kid?" he asked after a long moment of silence only broken by the blonde's soft grunts of pain. Adrien took a moment to shoot Plagg a sarcastic smile before pushing himself back into a proper sitting position.

"Yeah," he muttered after the kwami was staring a bit too long for his liking, "It's just memories getting the best of me. Again." He added with a shallow sigh. His eyes flicked to the glowing computer screens before him and then down to his desk while Plagg silently watched, waiting for him to say anything at all to continue the conversation. When it became clear to him that the blonde was simply going to dive back into his work without talking about what was really bugging him caused Plagg's fur to stand on end in frustration. He found himself growling in a low feline way as he watched his chosen begin to type out a note on a new design he had been shown, the anger at his utter dismissal lately was boiling inside Plagg's small body until he just couldn't take it anymore.

"WHY ARE YOU JUST IGNORING IT!?" He demanded when it became far too much. Adrien jumped at his kwami's sudden shouting and held his hands before himself in a defensive manner as his wide emerald eyes landed on the small creature.

"Wha- where did that come from all of a sudden?" Adrien asked as he narrowed his eyes. The initial shock of Plagg's outburst was wearing off and now there was only pure confusion swirling around his thoughts. His gaze flicked back to the screen momentarily before lingering on Plagg's scowling features.

"Where did it- ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF!?" Plagg flew up to get in Adrien's face as his voice raised once again. The blonde sat back sharply against his chair as the kwami swooped in close to his eyes. His brows were arched upwards and pressed nearly together as he settled his gaze on Plagg's face once again. "Listen, kid, you got to understand that it's alright to hurt sometimes. You don't have to be made of steel and you don't have to brush off your pain like it's no big deal!" When his chosen remained silent he continued, "look, I know it hurts, and I'm not just talking about your old wound. She had her reasons for leaving and I know you are trying to keep her up on that pedestal you so happily put her on back then, but what if you clinging to her so hard is what's keeping her away?" Adrien, who had been staring at him in confusion with his mouth slightly agape, snapped it shut and stood quickly from his seat as his fists clenched at his sides.

"I didn't ask you to bring her up Plagg, my wounds have nothing to do with her at all." He muttered as he moved across the room to look out of one of his many office windows. His eyes fell on the streets of paris below him, it was still early in the morning for most people and the fine drizzle of rain helped with the nearly abandoned streets. A shadow fell over his eyes as he tilted his head forward to rest it against the cooled glass. "I wasn't enough to keep her around. After my father… after everything we went through together all those years ago… she didn't even say goodbye to me." His eyelids fluttered shut as his deep sigh left a cloud of fog across the glass of the window. "She wasn't even there when I was shot, probably halfway across the world by now. Relaxing with whoever the guy was who had her heart back then, it certainly wasn't me."

"Yeah, kid, I know. She wasn't there, for years, she still isn't…" Plagg flew from his place on the desk to bury himself in Adriens long blonde tresses, just as he use to do when the young man was but a young boy, back before his world crumbled around him only for him to build it right back up again. He wished that he could find the girl and talk some sense into her, or even get Tikki to do it for him. He hated seeing his kitten broken like this, no matter how successful he became, or how popular his product was, or even how far he distanced himself from his father, Adrien would never feel whole again without at least an explanation from the girl who left him at the hospital, never to be seen again. "If she was smart, she would have at least said goodbye to you." He grumbled as he thought angrily about the girl who left his kitten behind.

"She is smart." Adrien snapped quickly, mostly out of habit. They had similar conversations all the time and the blonde was always quick to defend his lady. He may have been attempting to move on with his life, but she would always hold a place in his heart. It made Plagg wonder if that was why he never really put his all into any of the dates he had went on since school. The poor kid would never find love this way, or even happiness for that matter.

"Yeah yeah, you win kid." Plagg sighed softly as he nuzzled against Adrien's head. As long as he still had fight enough in him to defend Ladybug, then Plagg guessed he would be alright in the end.

"Mister Agreste." Adrien turned to look at the slim blonde woman standing in the doorway to his office, she reminded him of Natalie in many ways, but mainly due to her stern expression and half rim spectacles. She held folders in her right arm and her tablet in her left. Adrien could only assume that the folders were more of the same hopefuls submissions for his upcoming intern period. That was one of the few things Adrien kept when he erased his father's influence in the company. Once a year he held a contest for any up and coming designer who wanted their chance to become an intern in a living breathing fashion company. He could only allow three interns to join for a six month period at a time, but over the years he had seen the select few who won the coveted position go on to become quite successful in their endeavors. It was one of a rare few things his father started that was truly good through and through, something Adrien could not bring himself to cease when he thought of how much one of his own friends had struggled and fought for the position before his father was found to be the most vile supervillain in all of Paris.

"Abigail," Adrien straightened his shoulders as Plagg used his ponytail as a ladder to his shirt to avoid her sharp grey eyes, "it appears you have something for me?" He motioned to his desk which held similar stacks of folders that she had been delivering all morning. She moved swiftly to place the ones in her possession near his keyboard and held her tablet up to look over his schedule. He watched her eyes scan over the callender displayed on her screen and felt his heart sink, judging only by the amount of squares that were blue reflected in her glasses, he knew that he would have no free time during the day anytime soon.

"...at ESMOD, and that would bring you to dinner with Madame Bourgeois and her fiancė around six." His head snapped around to her from idly staring out of the window in thought. She said ESMOD. ESMOD was the school that Marinette was celebrating getting accepted into, right?

"Hold on, Abigail, what am I to do at ESMOD?" He asked, only to awkwardly scratch at the base of his neck, just under his ponytail, when she shot him a very annoyed glare over her glasses. She sighed and seemed to be fighting the urge to roll her eyes at his question before clearing her throat and looking down at her tablet once again.

"Today at four pm you are going to be apart of a seminar for the first year students, you are scheduled to give an informative speech on starting off in the fashion industry. Don't worry sir your speech is already written and edited for you. I can have a copy sent up for your final thoughts before you leave for lunch." He almost felt like laughing when she went right into treating him like he was still a twenty year old who didn't understand how to properly prepare for a runway show. Almost.

"Thank you Abigail, that will be all." He grunted as he slid into his chair, she turned to leave but stopped short when he called out, "Wait, send me a copy of my schedule as well, then you can take an early day after lunch. Thank you for all of your hard work." She stiffened without turning to face him, then he watched her stance soften as her shoulders fell.

"Yes sir, thank you Mister Agreste." That was all she said before she continued on her way out of the room. Adrien puffed out his cheeks before letting out a steady stream of air as he slid down a bit in his seat. With Abigail gone, he could relax once again. He always had to act so stiffly around the woman, if he ever slipped she would show her age by treating him like he was her son who misbehaved in school.

"I know you are too nice to fire her for insubordination, but geez, she treats you more like her kid than her boss." Plagg echoed his thoughts, causing him to laugh so suddenly that the kwami flew a bit away from him before turning to study him as if he had a strange disease. "What?" he asked in an annoyed whine.

"No, it's nothing. I thought of something that was funny is all." He breathed heavily as he came down from his sudden burst of laughter. He ignored Plagg's odd stare as he began going through the folders on his desk, pulling a few out here and there and putting them into a careful stack on his right while the others were clumsily stacked together on his left.

"I want camembert!" Plagg complained near Adrien's usual lunch time. The blonde sighed and pushed himself lightly from the desk before tapping the tips of his fingers along the edge of it as he thought.

"Well," he let out a puff of air with an audible popping sound as he slid his fingers from the desktop to rest on his chair arms, "if we leave now I may have just enough time to fix something simple before i have to go look over the new line." He reached up to scratch at his ponytail as he spoke. "If we go by the chateau…" plagg perked up immediately when he mentioned his nickname for his superhero personas home. It wasn't as grand as the apartment that he lived in as Adrien, but it was a decent size and was the resting place of a large fridge fully stocked with Plagg's favorite cheese.

"I could go Chateau…" he practically purred the words as he hovered near Adrien's face. The blonde couldn't help it, he began to laugh once again at the sight of his kwami drooling at the thought of eating camembert in the privacy of their home, being able to savor it always got Plagg more excited than the thought of eating it in the first place.

* * *

Chat strode into the apartment building that the Chateau rested at the top of, the doorman gave him a wide smile and a two fingered salute which he returned eagerly. Everyone in the building knew that the superhero of Paris lived just above them, and they were always overjoyed to see him coming home be it day or night. There was even a medical student, one who attended the same university as Adrien, living on the third floor. He was always the first one the other residents called on when Chat Noir stumbled into the front lobby of the building clutching at a new wound. He had planned this living arrangement carefully, even before Hawkmoth was unmasked. Back then, it was supposed to be a home for him and Ladybug once it was safe for them to really truly know one another in and out of the mask. Now it was nothing more than a place to rest off his wounds, restock Plagg with his smelly cheese, and plan his search of the city for the woman who had eluded him for years.

The thought was laughable, trading a happily ever after for a large empty space, and all against his will. It brought a sad smile to his lips as he stepped into the elevator and slid his key card in the slot above the buttons that sat in two columns on a steel panel. A green light, hidden by the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights previously, flashed three times before staying a solid red color. This was the only way up to the penthouse where he lived as Chat. It would have been perfect. He still had Ladybugs keycard, complete with an image of a Ladybug whose spots were tiny cats paw prints sitting on a leaf overlooking the Eiffel Tower. His own card displayed a large cats paw, lime green with black and red ladybugs as its toes. A white silhouette of the famous tower took up the majority of his card, resting on a solid black background. It was cheesy, couples key cards to a secret hideaway home that they could share, a long lost hope that now was long broken, while her card rested in a jar beside his front door.

The ride up to the Chateau was quick, yet felt stretched out as his mind went back to the silly plans of his youth. It seemed so long ago now but he could still feel the burning pain in his chest whenever they found their way into his mind once again. When the double doors opened to reveal a single white door five feet from them he already felt as if an elephant had taken up residence in his chest. He released his transformation a few steps into the short hallway, and leaned against the wall as he closed his eyes. Adrien had not felt her loss this strongly in a long time, the dampness of his cheeks didn't even distract his mind from the plans he had memorized years before.

"You okay kid? I- I shouldn't have brought her up. Sorry." Plagg was hovering near the left side of his face, Adrien naturally opened his left eye to glance at him as he spoke. He pulled his lips upwards in the same smile he used to flash to the cameras, the one that didn't quite make it to his eyes.

"I'll be fine." He said to break the silence that had fallen between them after the worried kwamis words died away, "Let's get inside so we can eat." Adrien moved past him and pulled out his keys, on one loop of his keychain there rested two identical keys which he used one of to open to door. Once they were inside, Plagg fazed through the closest fridge to gorge himself on camembert. Adrien chuckled at his eagerness before moving to his own fridge and looking through it for something to eat, one salad and lemon flavored water later he was sitting at the table in the breakfast nook and watching the news intently. It was a habit he had picked up over the years, if he was at home he was on the lookout for any sign of trouble. He could remember when he used the news as another way to look out for a certain red and black clad superheroine, but that was so long ago and no sign of her ever popped up.  
"So, what's the plan?" Plagg asked around half a wheel of cheese as Adrien flipped from one channel to another when the weather report came on. He took a moment to listen in on the report, only turning to his kwami when it was apparent there was no crime involved in the story the reporter was telling.

"We finish up lunch, go by the office to go over my speech one more time, then straight to ESMOD to talk to the students." He rested his cheek on his palm and played with his meal idly as he named off their list of plans.

"Didn't that designer girl you knew get in there? You planning to say hello?" Plagg inquired as he reached for another wheel of cheese. Adrien shrugged at his line of questioning and rested his fork on the table beside his plate.

"If I see her sure, but there is a large class this year and the dean is one hell of a hardass at these things." Plagg narrowed his eyes as the blonde spoke, noting a gentle smile making its way to the former models eyes.

He hid his frown by chewing on a large chunk of cheese, Adrien still didn't know, after all this time. He never asked or allowed Plagg to tell him what he witnessed during the Dark Owl akuma attack so many years ago. Plagg doubted he remembered that night at all amongst the jumbled mess of memories that they shared while fighting to save Paris from the onslaught of Alina's in their youth. Maybe it was for the best, he had gotten better at ignoring the feelings that she left him with.

"Maybe you shouldn't. Even if the chance arises I mean." Plagg's eyes grew larger as the words tumbled out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to say it, but now the blonde was looking at him with a mix of confusion and shock swirling in the depths of his emerald eyes.

"The dean isn't that bad about time Plagg." Adrien snorted as he turned back to the food before him.

"That's not what I meant kiddo. I just think it would be for the best if you didn't try to get buddy buddy with her again. You haven't spoken to her in years and-"

"So what? We are still friends. You don't have to talk to someone everyday to consider them a good friend." Adrien had his eyes on Plagg once again, they were narrowed now, guarded. The kwami could tell that he was ready to jump to Marinette's defense just as quickly as he had jumped to defend Ladybug. The irony would have made him laugh if the situation wasn't one that put his kitten through so much pain.

"I don't like her, she isn't a great person." He mumbled as he looked away from Adrien, who was staring at him with the same look on his face that he had whenever he reads something bad about his company online.

"Mari is one of the best people I know, sure you're not thinking about Lila?" He asked as he sat back a bit in his chair.

"Don't change the subject. And no, i meant the designer girl." Plagg huffed angrily, wishing he could tell Adrien why he truly disliked the woman. If he told him, there was still a possibility that he would either chase her to the ends of the earth, or fall into an even deeper depression when he realized that she left him as both Chat and Adrien at nearly the same time. He couldn't bring himself to tear open the old wounds that deeply, not now, not after Adrien had gotten so much better in her absence.

"Mari is a great person, and a good friend." Adrien deadpanned without looking at Plagg, probably expecting him to say that he won the argument in his passive way once again. Plagg however, remained silent as the grave and stared down his chosen without so much as blinking.

* * *

 _ **Hello dear readers;**_

 _ **If you have already read this feel free to read it again as it has undergone some edits, the Prime one being the spoiler warning that is now at the beginning. A good friend named Emzurl from tumblr (go check her out because her art is fantastic and her fancomics are amazing) pointed out to me that I needed it due to the season 2 hints I scattered about this chapter. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**_

 _ **Much love;**_

 _ **Ad**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3, Good Friends:**

The school day had seemed to drag by and go all too quickly at the same time. Marinette had heard stories of the seminars that happened annually and had grown too excited to stay still. Even her mind was moving a thousand miles an hour as she furiously sketched in her portfolio. The seminar was held once a year. The dean invites major fashion icons to talk at it, she couldn't even begin to speculate on how much information she would be able to gain from the three hour long event. Her excitement was not just her own, she could see it in the eyes of her classmates as they all waited for the inevitable hour to fall upon them. It was like she was back at her first day of school, bubbly and unable to contain the bright smile that spread across her cheeks. Each class that passed went by all too slowly for her liking, as her mind was only focused on figuring out which of the celebrities of the fashion world would be invited to it that day.

"Marinette, yo, earth to Marinette." A hand before her face, waving back and forth in an attempt to catch her attention, brought her mind back to the present and had her squeaking in surprise as she jumped in her seat. Michal stood before her, an unsure smile upon his lips as he held out a cup of cocoa from her favorite shop out to her. She took it with a smile and pressed the rim of the cup to her lips, wincing as the hot liquid scorched the tip of her tongue before humming in satisfaction as the rich sweetness of the drink filled her mouth.

"Thanks Michal." She said as she saluted him with the cup, he chuckled and grabbed his own cup of coffee from the desk behind him to answer her salute with one of his own.

"You seemed to have your head in the clouds, didn't even notice me come back with your order. I thought something was up but you were smiling…" He explained before cutting himself off with a drink from his own cup. She smiled apologetically as she held her own warm cup in both hands. The warmth felt good on her palms, especially when compared to the chilling weather outside the classroom.

"I was thinking about the seminar today, I am excited to see who they got this year to talk to us." She explained as she rested her hands and cup on the table before her slowly, "I heard that last year they had Nadia Chouphăn. She's the second top designer in all of Paris, I wonder who could possibly be talking to us this year."

"Oh yeah, Nadia, she talked to us about the importance of relaxing into the art during the sketch phase. She said that it's easy to stress yourself out over your art so you really should have a page or even an entire notebook dedicated to 'scribbling out the stress' as she put it." She chuckled as he copied the woman's high pitched Italian voice when quoting her. Michal smirked as he watched her and took another sip from his coffee cup.

"Are you guys talking about the seminar, I hear that the head of Agreste is coming this year." Marinette glanced up at a cute blonde girl, one from her first class. Her bright blue eyes and high ponytail reminded her a lot of a certain blonde who use to torture her in her early years of school, but her sweet smile brought memories of Alya to her mind.

"Oh yeah, I wonder what he's going to talk about." Michal murmured as he rubbed his chin between his thumb and fingers, "I'm Michal by the way, this is Marinette." he added as he moved his hand from his chin to rest it on Marinette's shoulder. She jumped a bit at the contact, but seeing the warm smile on his face had her relaxing and turning her attention back onto the girl.

"I'm Therisa." She flashed Marinette another bright smile after introducing herself, "I think we actually share a class together, you're a first year too right?"

"Yeah, I am." Marinette held her hand out in offer to shake the girls, she gave her the best friendly smile she could as Therisa accepted her offer eagerly. Michal was quiet during all of this, but his hand did not leave her shoulder even as it moved along with her arm during the quick handshake. She glanced up to see him taking another drink from his cup as he glanced around the room at the other students. Murmurs of conversation reached their ears, the excitement for the event planned for the day sending a buzz of energy through everyone. Marinette could feel it in herself too, perhaps more so upon hearing that one of her old best friends would be talking to them. She had not seen Adrien in a few years. Giddiness did not describe how she felt knowing she would get to see how he had handled himself in the absence of his cruel father but it was as close to it as she could describe. Would he talk about the business side or the creative side of running a company she wondered as she ran her thumb across the band around her cup of cocoa.

"I hope that we get close to the podium, I have been a fan of Adrien Agreste since I was like twelve." Therisa gushed, her eyes practically sparkled as she spoke. Marinette felt a small chuckle escaping her lips before she could stop it. Of course a fair number of the girls attending this university would be fans of his from his modeling years, herself included, she wondered if she ever looked so awestruck by him back then. If she judged solely on how much Alya teased her about it, she would have to say yes.

"I don't think he will be signing autographed photos from magazines or anything like that." Michal shrugged as he spoke, "I am pretty sure it will be like last year where they just talk to you guys and then go wherever they go afterwards. We certainly didn't get a chance to really get close to our speakers." His words made her heart sink a little, true she should have expected something like that but in the back of her mind she had hoped to at the very least exchange a quick greeting with Adrien once again. Of course they wouldn't stick around after speaking though, the fashion industry was an ever evolving career, and that left little time for anyone to waste when they were apart of it. She sank down a bit in her chair, pulling Michal's attention to her slightly subdued posture.

"Well, I know that." Therisa huffed, oblivious to Marinette's change in mood, "I just want to get a good look at him is all. He isn't really public much anymore and personally I want to see how much he's changed over the years."

Marinette wanted to join in on their conversation, but the same second she opened her lips to speak a loud ringing echoed throughout the room. She jumped in her seat and grabbed the back of her chair, preparing to push herself to her feet as her eyes searched for the source of the sound. The others did not look as shocked as she felt over the shrill noise, and that realization had her cheeks warming exponentially.

"Akuma alert drill." Therisa rolled her eyes as she spoke. Michal seemed to copy her sentiment with a deep and annoyance filled sigh.

"Akuma alert? Wait didn't uh… wasn't the threat defeated years ago?" Marinette stumbled over her words, only adding to the warmth in her cheeks as she looked between the two who had been holding a friendly conversation moments before.

"Yeah, Ladybug was amazing back then." Michal nearly purred his words.

"No way, Chat Noir was the bad ass during that fight. He nearly cataclysm-ed Hawkmoth like woosh!" Therisa countered, complete with a quick arm movement to act out Chat's signature move.

"Ladybug was like, the leader of that team. She was the one that could really stop them!" Michal was quick to jump to Marinette's old alter ego's defense.

"If Ladybug is so great then where is she now huh? Not defending Paris." Therisa countered as she crossed her arms. Marinette squirmed in her seat as she listened to them having the same arguments that she use to have to listen to as a teen, albeit slightly different as they weren't comparing the two heroes strengths.

"Have you seen an akuma lately? Besides even the Ladyblog said that she left to protect another country." Michal snorted as Therisa rolled her eyes. Marinette groaned softly as she slid further down in her seat, now they were bringing up Alya's blog, just when would she be able to escape her past?

"What do you think Marinette? Chat Noir is the better superhero right? I mean he is still around after all." Therisa was looking dead at her as she spoke, causing Marinette to feel like she was being interrogated about her past. She was more than willing to jump to Chat's defense, though the way that Michal was looking at her told her he expected her to join him in defending her own honor.

"I think, I think they worked well as a team. Neither of them were more important than the other, but Chat is doing better on his own now that the akuma's aren't a threat anymore." Marinette went with the only option she felt that she had. It was the same option she had used many times in her youth, although back then there were far fewer Chat supporters. She had to admit, at least to herself, that it felt nice to see him finally having the amount of support she always thought he deserved.

"So you're saying that if the akumas came back then Ladybug would be the more important one right?" Michal prodded.

"No, no that's not what I meant. They worked well _together,_ we shouldn't be pitting them against each other like they aren't partners." Marinette stammered quickly. Her eyes flicked to the crowd of students slowly making her way out of the classroom as she quickly formed a plan to escape the conversation, "Shouldn't we be going?" She motioned towards the crowd as she spoke, breathing a sigh of relief as the other two nodded in answer of her question. They moved as a small group towards the front of the classroom, Marinette lagging slightly behind the two who were still arguing over which hero was the best, her mind was on Chat now and her body felt heavier and heavier with each step that she took. Chat was probably busy patrolling the majority of the city alone at that moment. She use to take half the city, the half where her old school and her parents bakery rested in, but since her retirement he had taken up her post as well.

The class was herded out of their room and down the hallway to the commons area of the wing they were currently in. She found herself near the wall, off to one side with Michal standing almost uncomfortably close to her. She did not protest their closeness however, with the amount of people packed into the small room she could understand it. His hand brushed against hers and she pulled her hand away quickly, covering up the action by tucking a stray hair behind her ear as he glanced her way with slight confusion in his eyes. She smiled shyly as she turned away from him, unsure how to tell him that contact like that made her nervous. She had never pursued any form of intimate relationship, not since the night she left Chat after seeing him being carted to the nearest operating room as he bled out. She had decided that night that he was better off without her, and that she was better off without anyone at all.

"Are you okay?" He asked her as the professors began giving the students instructions on what to do if akumas ever came back.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I mean I'm o-okay." she mumbled quickly as she felt her face warming once again. Of course he would notice she was acting weird and question her. They were being forced together by the sheer amount of bodies around them and she was acting as if the slightest contact from him was dangerous. She tried to laugh it off but found herself looking away from him awkwardly as the moment stretched on. She hoped that she wasn't setting up the basis for their friendship in this way, if he was going to be her partner for a full semester then she really needed to be able to be relaxed around him. Marinette knew this but, she just couldn't help pulling away from him as his hand made contact with her, it was an odd chilling sensation that left her more confused than anything else.

"You sure?" he asked as he tilted his head to get a better look at her face. She just nodded and gave him a small smile in return, her words failing her as a strange sense of foreboding filled her mind causing cold shivers to run down her spine. She looked up at the professor in the front of the group, he was standing on a coffee table and speaking to them about what to do in an emergency situation, not just akuma related ones, but his exact words just weren't registering in her mind as she stared blankly ahead. Her hope was that Michal would take her hint and not press her for further information on her current state of mind, for she couldn't honestly get her jumbled thoughts in order well enough to begin to explain it to him.

* * *

When they were finally allowed to leave the common room, Marinette knew in her heart she would be late to the seminar. Everyone was moving so slowly out of the room that she doubted any of the ones who were forced to the back of the line, much like she was, were not going to be getting a place close to the podium. She kept her eyes on her phone's screen as she walked across the courtyard, hoping that by paying attention to the time she could somehow slow it down in some way. She had grown used to being late to practically everything during the first year of her retirement, but she thought she was getting better about being on time. Days like this one made her realize that there was nothing she could do about being late to something she was excited about if fate didn't deem it to be. She sighed, letting out a puff of steam that soon faded away to nothing before her eyes, and glanced up at the building she was currently headed towards. Students lined the stone steps leading up to the front doors, some even standing in the grassy areas that were perfectly landscaped on either side of them, all moving in like a slow tide in hopes of getting a seat in the conference room. She held no hope of that for herself. The knowledge that her year was the largest class to date told her that there would be quite a few of their numbers standing in the back of the room and craning their necks in hopes of catching sight of this year's speakers. She knew that she would be apart of those numbers and silently grieved her position. Marinette had not seen Therisa since the akuma Alert Drill, she hoped that the girl who seemed to be in the running for Chat Noir's number one fangirl managed to get a good spot. Afterall, she seemed so excited to see Adrien even if she couldn't speak to him herself, it warmed Marinette's heart to see someone so fiercely adamant about her adoration for both of Marinette's old friends.

She made it to the bottom step in time to hear the dean's voice calling out an alert for all first year students to get a place in the conference room or risk missing out on this year's seminar. Her pulse sped at the sound and she found herself taking two steps at a time only to be stopped by a wall of bodies that were not moving for her or anyone else. She puffed out her cheeks in irritation, by the looks of it she would be one of the one's left out of the room entirely. The students were moving again, allowing her to take one step closer to the door. She couldn't even see past the mass of bodies before her. She longed for the warmth of her long finished drink, her palms would certainly not be stinging with the bite of the cold wind drifting across the courtyard if she had her cup to hold between them.

Her hands were shaking with cold as she pushed them into the pockets of her faux fur lined jacket. The foresight that it took to wear it was not her own, in fact she nearly rushed out of her apartment that morning without thinking about the weather before Tikki stopped her at the door and demanded she cover herself properly for the day. Tikki truly cared for her still, in a motherly way that made her feel the warmth of her home at the slightest touch from the kwami. It caused a small smile to spread across her lips as she ran her finger over Tikki's head and felt her nuzzle into the touch.

The crowd was moving again, agonizingly slowly for Marinette who was sure that she would not have the slightest chance of even getting into the seminar at all at this point. There was just so many students ahead of her and she doubted the capacity of the room. Those thoughts were just causing her lips to pull into a firm frown when the sea of bodies surged forward quickly. Her brows raised at the sudden change in energy around her and she looked down to her pocket quickly to see Tikki poking her head out of it enough to give her a small shrug in answer to her silent question. Even without being Ladybug, luck seemed to still be on her side for the most part.

She managed to work her way inside the room, finding a spot near the back wall was a bit harder yet she trusted that the stroke of luck had not yet run its course. She found herself positioned under a portrait of the universities first dean, a clear line of sight to the podium allowing her to see the speakers even if she couldn't hear them that well. Her classmates half whispered conversations drowned out the sounds coming from the sound system located on the raised platform that the guest speakers were currently sitting on. She saw a flash of honey blonde hair and felt a faint fluttering in her heart as Adrien's face filled her mind. She tilted her head to get a better view just as a large built young man stepped into her line of sight and she felt her lips fall into a frown of disappointment.

"Oh man he is so cute!" A girl nearby her nearly squealed as she pointed to the podium. Marinette didn't have to question what brought on that reaction, Adrien had always been popular on looks alone, even if no one ever got to really know him as the kind hearted boy she was lucky enough to be friends with, they still admired him from afar for his natural good looks.

"I put in my bid for the internship this year." Another girl commented as she crossed her arms before her chest. A cocky half smile played across the girls dark lips, who clearly thought that she would get the position without even trying.

"I put mine in too, I guess we are competing huh?" There was a third girl, a meek looking mousy haired girl who was just slightly taller than Marinette and who seemed to want to join in their conversation. Marinette felt her heart go out to the girl who reminded her a lot of Juleka, an old classmate that she had not seen in a few years.

"Psh, I have it in the bag, there is no competition." The second girl bragged loudly, causing many to turn their attention on the group beside Marinette. Marinette decided that she did not like the second girl very much, She pulled her lips into a tight line as she studied them as well. The murmurs increased around her, making it difficult for her to make out anything any one single person was saying. She squeezed herself closer to the wall as she studied the people standing around her. The room felt all too full and she her breaths felt shallow (I don't think shallowly is a word) as the sheer amount of bodies left the air thin.

"How can you be so sure you'll get a spot?" The first girl asked as she stepped between the second and third girls to block them from each other.

"Obviously because my designs are amazing and I modeled them for my submission. Can you imagine, a couple years from now I will be a designer and model and you two will be… well like working in a shop or something." The second girl laughed after that, covering her mouth with one hand while the other rested on her hip. It reminded Marinette of Chloe, who used to always put others around her down and inflate her own ego. Fueled by the memories of the blonde, Marinette stepped up to rest her on the third girl's shoulder.

"I am sure that confidence is a must, especially in this industry," Marinette began, pulling the attention of all three girls to her as she spoke. She took a moment to take in a calming breath before continuing, "however, a poor attitude towards those who you may end up working beside or even for in the future will not help you get your foot in the door. It is a good thing to believe in yourself, but do you really think it is a good idea to put down those around you?" The three seemed shocked by her words for a moment before the one who had been bragging smirked and cocked out one hip as her arms crossed before her chest.

"And you are?" she asked as she moved one arm to motion towards Marinette as a whole. Marinette felt her cheeks warm as she watched the girl scrutinizing her in such a way, the motion bringing her back to her teen years when Chloe and her friends would look at the raven haired girl in much the same way. Marinette would not give in to this girl just as she had not given into Chloe all those times before.

"I am Marinette, and like you and everyone else in this room I am striving to be a fashion designer. Unlike you however, I do not go around putting others down to make myself look good. If you think you have to do so then I am sure that Adr- Mr. Agreste would not want you anywhere near his business." Marinette crossed her arms over her chest as well as she spoke, and stared hard into the girl's golden brown eyes without so much as blinking. Everyone around them did not look away as the two stared one another down, neither of them wanting to be the one to back down from the silent battle of wills.

"You have a lot to learn if you think there is any room to be 'nice' in the fashion industry." The girl said after their staring contest stretched on to an uncomfortable amount of time, "You aren't going to get anywhere important if you think you can just praise everyone. Critics will eat you alive and you will be tossed out by the likes of Adrien Agreste." She moved in close to Marinette as she spoke, sneering as she stared down the Marinette with her hands on her hips. Marinette did not back away from her aggressive move, instead straightening her shoulders and attempted to make herself look even taller than she was.

"I seriously doubt that," she sighed as she spoke, making it clear that the girls words were an outcry of a child at best to her, "If you think that having a nasty attitude will help you get on top you are going to be disappointed, especially when that attitude leaks into your designs." A low chorus of students 'oooo'-ing followed her words, Marinette felt her lips twitch towards a smile at the sound before she forced them back into a thin line. She wasn't the kind of girl to relish in another person's pain, even if that person was being stuck up or mean to someone else.

* * *

There was some sort of argument going on in the back of the room, from where Adrien sat beside the dean of students he couldn't see who was having the argument but he could see the crowd of students turning to watch it as it continued on. The dean was shifting beside him, attempting to figure out what was going on in the back of the room without allowing the students to see him just yet. Adrien was interested in what was going on as well, albeit for a different reason.

"I wouldn't be openly telling people what you think Adrien would want! Talk about nastiness leaking into your designs? I bet yours look like you took a dump in a sketchbook." A shrill girls voice echoed through the room as she shouted at whoever she was having the argument with. It came shortly after a collective "oooo" from the back of the room so he could only assume the girl was on the losing side of the fight. A murmur filled the room shortly after the outburst and a few people nearby him began asking others what was going on in the back. He leaned forward, resting his cheek on his fist as he tried to cover up for the fact that he was listening in to their hushed conversations. From what he could gather, one girl who a few noted for being generally soft spoken during their first day had been in the middle of being put down rudely by another when someone stepped in to defend the first and tell the second off. He smiled at the thought. Marinette used to be like that when they were in school together and he was glad to see that even in a place like this someone was willing to stand up for others no matter what.

The first speaker, a dark skinned bald man who wore a large hoop of gold in one ear, stood and moved to the podium before them. The action blocked Adrien's view of what was going on and brought the blonde back to the present. He coughed into his hand and shifted so he was sitting a bit straighter in his chair as he locked his eyes on the back of the man's soft purple shirt. His speech on the importance of looking forward in fashion was speaking and in a voice so monotone that Adrien felt his eye's drooping as he attempted to follow the man's words. The argument that had caught his attention seemed to stop as soon as the man stood, but he wouldn't have minded if it had continued, at least then he would have something for his mind to cling onto that wasn't slowly putting him to sleep.

"...With that said however, I would like to introduce you to someone who has been in this industry practically since the day he was born. This man has overcome a downfall that I would not wish on anyone, and has often helped my own designers with his wonderful intern program. Ladies and Gentlemen, and those who aren't apart of either of those restraining genders, may I introduce, Adrien Agreste of _the_ Agreste Fashion."

Adrien jerked his head upwards at the sound of his name. The man was looking at him with a bright smile and the students were all clapping wildly, some even cheering, as he pushed himself up from his seat and gave them a small wave in return. Praise wasn't something he was used to after all the years he had spent on the other side of the camera, the sounds of the students excitement in seeing him brought with them memories of the past, when no one really saw past his face, past the false persona his father so carefully crafted for him.

"I would like to say good afternoon to each of you." He began as he stepped up to the podium, his fingers wrapped around its wooden edges as he leaned forward to get closer to the small microphone. "As I look over each of your faces today, I think back to my own start. I wasn't always the CEO of my own company you see. It took hard work, a bit of luck, and trust in wonderful creators much like yourselves." He paused to take a breath and scanned over the crowd before him. A few cheerful girls shouted their love for him as he did this, but he had grown used to ignoring such exclamations while he was still a model under his father's thumb. "This industry cannot survive without creativity. I have been lucky enough over the years to see the flow of creativity from designers of all creeds and styles. Any one of you could go on to be the top of our industry in a few short years and I am excited to see that happen." his eyes scanned over the back of the crowd, and stopped short when a flash of blue black hair captured his attention. It was long raven hair that was pulled up in a high ponytail yet still left fringe to fall around the eyes of the woman it belonged to, framing them perfectly as if she were painted by a classical artist with an expert eye for beauty. Marinette was smiling gently as she watched him. The smile made him feel lighter just by seeing it upon her lips. He felt his own lips pull into a small smile as his tongue darted out to run across his bottom lip. "Many of you here may think that you don't truly have what it takes to make it in the industry, you may not feel you are hard enough or cutthroat enough to make it as far as I, and others who have come today to share their wisdom with you, have. What I have to say to that is this: just breathe. Let your imagination carry your hand across the page or your needle through the fabric. This industry doesn't have to be for only those who wish to walk on others. You will find, when you head out to pursue your dreams, that many in the fashion scene are exceptionally willing to open up themselves to you and to teach you what you cannot learn in class. You will make friends and acquaintances who will be behind you along your journey just as you will eventually be behind others as well. Every mentor you can think of was once a student. One day some of you may be in my shoes, standing here as I am and speaking to a class who will be just as excited to hear your wisdom."

"I Love You Adrien!" He raised a brow as a shrill cry reached his ear from the left, a blonde who was carrying a portfolio lined with images from his modeling years was practically bouncing in place as his eyes met hers. His smile turned awkward as he turned away from the fans gaze to find Marinette's face once again. The feeling that he was lucky to have a friend in the crowd he could use as his anchor filled his soul, and he felt himself smile when he saw the raven haired woman laughing with her hand covering her lips. Her eyes met his for a moment before she looked away from him with a light dusting of pink covering her lips.

"I hope that each of you will reach your full potential." He was off script now, not that Abigail could stop him he supposed, "I would like to tell you a story of when I was younger. I had a friend in school who was the sweetest girl you could ever ask to meet, she is also the best designer I have ever met." There it was, he had caught Marinette's eye once again, and even had her mouth forming into a small "o" as her own eyes widened more than he thought possible. He leaned away from the microphone as a soft chuckle slipped from his lips, "She was always willing to stand up for others, and always willing to share her creations with everyone. I know that, given she doesn't change herself to fit a form that many think they have to take in the industry, she will go farther than I could ever dream of." She was staring at her feet pointedly now, her arms crossed and her eyes hidden by her fringe. He pursed his lips as he realized he may have went too far by mentioning her in such a way. As he moved his gaze to look over the others in the room, he noticed a girl beside her almost looking proud and speaking with two others, though her lips moved quickly and he couldn't make out what she was saying to them. The scene brought a nagging feeling to the back of his mind but he couldn't quite pinpoint what memory was causing it.

"Er…" He coughed into his hand to clear his throat as he shifted his attention to the microphone rather than the eyes watching his every movement, "I know that many of the faces I see today have put in their submissions to the six month intern program at Agreste Fashion." His eyes scanned the small slip of paper he had been given by Abigail just in case he needed notes on his next dialogue, "It is a free to join competition that I hope each and every one of you put in a submission for. The amount of talent in this room alone is astounding. I wish I could have each of you for those six months but I am afraid my company's headquarters just isn't equipped for that many interns." a low chuckle reverberated through the crowd and he smiled in return. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't try though, each of you should always put your best work forward and never stop trying." Finished, he introduced the next speaker and backed away from the podium to allow the elder woman a clear line to the microphone.

The woman spoke in an excited cantor that was surprising for her age. A long speech on the importance of color theory while designing was cleverly told to the students before her as she jumped about in a frenzy that she should not have had with her old age. Adrien watched her with a small smile on his lips, she seemed to be the kind of woman that would make a good grandmother, energetic and kind. As he moved to take his seat once again, he felt a soft vibration on the side of his leg that told him someone was attempting to get a hold of him on the phone he reserved for his alter ego. He stopped just short of his rump touching the cushioned seat and turned his head towards the dean as an uneasy furrow crossed his brow.

"I am afraid I have a pressing matter I need to attend to." He informed the older man as he shifted his weight back into a standing position, "Thank you for allowing me to speak with them today." He added as he fished his phone from his pocket and looked down at the screen. The mayor. Of course she wouldn't let him off the hook for even one day. With a short farewell to the dean, he made his way out of a door that rested to the right of the small raised stage they had been sitting on and pressed his thumb over the glowing green icon to answer her call.

"Mayor Raincomprix," he sighed into the receiver as he leaned against a nearby wall. The redhead was an old classmate of his, but she would never know it was Adrien Agreste, her best friend's old crush, that she was ordering around as Chat Noir.

"Chat, you were supposed to be at City Hall an hour ago to go over plans for increasing safety in the city with Chief Decoprux. Where are you!?" It wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

"Would you believe me if I said I was tied up with work?" He asked as he looked up towards the arched ceiling above him. He was outside the building, on a small walkway area that was covered by a lime green arch.

"You work for me. For Paris. Need I constantly remind you of that Mr. Noir?" Venom dripped from her words, if he was in his mask then he knew they would have made his ears flatten against his hair. "You need to get your leather clad tail down here now before I decide that you will have to clean up your own messes from now on." He sighed softly and let his eyes slip closed as she threatened him. She did not know that when Adrien Agreste offered to pay for any cleanup needed if and when Chat Noir had to use his cataclysm during his duties, that it did not give her any power to take that away from Chat. It would be hard for him to explain to her just why that threat held no weight however, so with a dramatic grunt on his part, he conceded in letting her get her way once again.

"I'm on my way." With the sound of his conformation still ringing in his ears, he hung up the phone and looked around quickly for an out of the way place to transform.

He had found the perfect nook, and was halfway across the grounds on his way to it, when he spotted her once again. Marinette. She was walking with her head down and her phone held out before herself. She had left the seminar early it seemed. He found himself moving towards her when he spotted a brunette young man rushing right at the raven haired girl. He stopped short when he watched the other male wrap her in a large bear hug from behind and lift her off the ground.

"Mari." Adrien winced at the sound of the other male calling her by the nickname she had went by when they were younger. He felt as if he were intruding on a private moment between the two.

"Michal, what's the problem? I just got your text…"

Adrien had already turned his back on them but could not bring himself to continue towards his chosen spot when he heard her question. That guy had called her out of the seminar? Were they together? He hadn't been part of the old group for a long while but he was sure he would have been told by either Alya or Nino if Marinette suddenly had a new man in her life, right?

"Kid, the mayor?" Plagg poked his head out of Adrien's shirt pocket to remind him just why he should ignore the scene playing out before him. Adrien felt his heart sink with the weight of everything piling onto him as he forced his legs to carry him to the spot he had chosen. He didn't pay attention to his kwamis muttered grumbles about what they had seen. He was far to busy thinking of how he should have tried harder to stay in the loop with the only group of friends he had ever considered true to him.

"Plagg, transform me." He muttered under his breath the second he was in the shadows of the small nook situated between two buildings. A bright green light surrounded him as his clothes morphed into the black leather like suit that Chat Noir was known for. He opened his eyes just as the mask materialized around them and felt his faux cat ears twitch towards the sound of the conversation he never really meant to eavesdrop on.

"...tonight? I um, I don't know. I mean we do have a lot of homework…" Marinette's voice seemed meek and unsure to him, filling his mind with memories of her talking to him in the same way back when they were still kids. He felt his ears flatten as he thought of all the times he avoided hanging out with the group in school because she seemed scared of him. Was she scared of this guy as well?

"It's just coffee Mari, besides I can walk you home and help you out with homework afterwards." The guy seemed desperate, even if Chat couldn't see his face at that point he could imagine the large pleading eyes he must be flashing towards her at that moment.

"I don't really like coffee…" She was still speaking in her soft uncomfortable tones that let him know the other guy wasn't exactly making her feel safe in that moment.

'You don't have to drink coffee. Come on Mari, I just want to hang out. It doesn't have to be a big deal." Chat frowned as his brows pulled close together, does the guy not know what 'no' means?

"Fine, one hour, then I have to go home." They walked past his hiding spot as Mari said this, giving him a perfect view of her uncomfortable frown and downcast eyes as the other guy hung his arm around her shoulder eagerly. Chat's fists clenched at his sides as they moved out of his line of sight. What he had witnessed definitely left a sour taste in the back of his mouth, but he would have to put any thoughts on that on the back burner of his mind for now. He had to do his duty to the city first, then he could investigate what was going on with his friend.

* * *

The Parisian horizon at night was lovely, a thick velvet dark blue skyline offset by the bright twinkling lights across the city with the Eiffel Tower at its centerpiece could bring thoughts of love and happiness to anyone's mind. Chat could understand why his home was known as the City of Love to the rest of the world as he perched on the roof of the small apartment building. He was soaking in the sights around him as he silently waited for the two he had been following all night to come up on their inevitable stop. He knew where Marinette lived after his alter ego, Adrien, helped her move in. The memory of the frosting fight the four of them had gotten into that night after Marinette presented them with a large cake as a thank you gift brought a small smile to his lips. It had been one of the last times the four of them were together, and something he needed desperately back then as he was still processing the fact that it was his own father attacking Paris and attempting to get his and Ladybug's Miraculous. It was his contact with his friends that truly pulled him through that dark time in his life. Without Nino insisting he continue to go out with them and Alya as well as Marinette insisted that they wanted him around still, he would have fallen into a deep depression that would be so complete even Plagg would not have been able to reach him.

"I told you it would be fun, you needed to relax." Chat's ears perked as the voice of the male who had been pestering Mari reached his ears. He leaned over the edge of the building to see the brunet with his arm over Marinette's shoulder once again. They were walking close together as they made their way down the sidewalk towards her building, but only he seemed comfortable in the situation. She was withdrawn, her head pointed down as she hugged her arms to herself while she walked.

'I'm not sure your friends were happy to see me there." She mumbled the words. Chat doubted that her current companion could hear her, but thanks to his magically gifted cat ears, he could. She was unhappy about the night's events. He could relate. After meeting with the Mayor, who he preferred without the long ponytail that reminded him of his childhood friend, he had returned to Agreste Fashion and had dealt with Abigail's near breakdown about the lack of a particular fabric. He had to bribe Plagg with two weeks worth of camembert cheese, which was much more than one would think, even to transform for this side job he had given himself.

"They were! They just don't show it well.." The guy at her side chuckled as he scratched at the base of his neck. She shrugged in return and let out a soft sigh of displeasure.

"Oh, this is my place. Thanks for walking me home Michal." Marinette moved away from him as she spoke and the look on the man's face when she turned her back to him made Chat's blood run cold. It was a boiling anger in his deep brown eyes, and it really caused Adrien to fear for his friend's wellbeing. He was so taken by the man's expression that he almost didn't notice what he was doing with his hands. Almost.

He was holding one hand at his side while the other was stuffed into the pocket of his jeans. The hand held at his side was balled into a fist for a moment after Marinette headed inside without him, but to Chat's short lived confusion, soon he was holding out one finger, then another and another, each digit being pulled from the fist after the same amount of time that it would take someone to make it up a flight of stairs. Chat wanted to growl as he came to the realization that this Michal was counting to see which floor Marinette lived on. He knew that the stairs in her building were lined with windows, he even knew that the building didn't have an elevator. The memory of Nino complaining about that fact as he and Adrien hauled a couch up to her new home filled his mind as he thought over these facts. Marinette had not invited him in, meaning that she wasn't quite ready to show the guy where she lived. The fact that he was standing on the sidewalk counting each floor she passed in the windows as she made her way up the stairs was creepy to say the least. He felt useless as he watched Michal's lips pull into a sideways smirk before the brunet male turned and made his way back down the sidewalk towards the direction they had just come from.

Once he was out of sight Chat let out a shaky breath. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that something bad was going to happen to Marinette. Poor, sweet, always-ready-to-help Marinette. He could feel his hands shaking with emotions he could not pinpoint in that moment.

Maybe that was why he scaled the other side of the building and knocked lightly on the window leading into her living room. He talked himself out of simply leaving four times in the short six minutes it took for her drapes to open and her eyes to lock onto his own. She wasn't in the clothes he had seen her in last. Instead she was wearing a loose grey shirt with a pair of cat ears stitched above her right breast, a pair of light pink sweatpants with the word Star running down the right leg, and the cutest pair of bunny slippers Chat had ever seen.

"Chat Noir?" Her confusion laced voice pulled him from the study of her clothes and back up to her face. He noticed now, how little makeup she wore, her freckles clear and sprinkled over her nose and cheekbones only caused her bluebell eyes to sparkle more than he thought possible. Her hair was down, hanging about her shoulders in much longer locks than she had had the last time he saw her, and her lips did not hold the baby pink hues that he saw earlier that day. They reminded him of a fine rosé wine at their current state. It was harder than he would like to admit, to pull his eyes away from her lips and return her confused stare with what he hoped to be a friendly smile. They were friends after all. Yes, friends… nothing more. Just good friends.

"H-hey Princess, just checking in on you." He chuckled around his words, a nervous tick that he always followed up with scratching the area below his ponytail, and that moment was no exception.

"What, you were just patrolling and thought 'geez I should check in on _Marinette_?" She asked, emphasizing her name like he didn't already know it. However, just as she had done in her teenage years, she opened the window wide enough for him to slip through and stepped aside. They had grown used to his visiting her long before Hawkmoth was defeated. Marinette was acting on pavlovian instincts at this point, he knew this even as he followed his own and scampered inside. Though even as Chat, he had not seen her in years, it was all so natural that neither of them could stop themselves from going through the motions.

Her home was warm, small, and quaint, with an air that simply sang with the word _Marinette_. Just placing his feet down on her floor was so relaxing that he felt his once tensed with emotion muscles loosen instantly. She was halfway across the room now, pulling a pair of mugs down from her cabinet that he recognized from their youth. Memories of drinking cocoa out of the thick black mug on top of the bakery with her sitting beside him and simply talking about her day warmed him better than the drink ever could. She shot him a gentle smile as she sat the mugs on her tiny island that separated her living room and kitchen. That smile brought with it memories of nights that she was the one to lifts his spirits when even Nino couldn't.

"Do you still like marshmallows in your cocoa?" She asked, breaking into his thoughts and causing him to jump slightly at the sound.

"Yeah." He replied after taking a moment to focus on what her question was. She chuckled at his response and pulled a bag of tiny marshmallows from another cabinet to lay them out beside the mugs. He moved to sit on one of her two barstools as she worked. She was humming softly to herself as she boiled a small pot of milk on her stove.

"Should I ask if you want your cocoa with your marshmallows?" She teased, turning to look at him over her shoulder as she asked the question only to look quickly away when their eyes met. He chuckled awkwardly as he scratched below his ponytail and allowed his eyes to drift down to the well used mug resting on the islands wooden top.

"I wasn't _that_ bad." He insisted as he looked up at her back, watching her hair sway gently as she worked. He rested his cheek against his palm as she giggled softly and shook her head at his words.

"Right, not bad at all. Mama thought I had a serious problem due to your totally reasonable amount of marshmallows." Her voice was softer than before, a bit more withdrawn like she was thinking of something else entirely. His lips slipped into a soft frown as her gentle humming ceased along with her slow stirring of the milk. "I'm sorry, Chat." She murmured after a few silent seconds.

"What, why would you be sorry Princess?" He asked, genuinely confused by her words and showing it through his brows that pulled together to form a dip in his mask just above the bridge of his nose. She sighed and turned to face him as she lifted one hand to motion around herself aimlessly.

"Everything." she said after taking a moment to inhale a deep and shaking breath, "I'm just… sorry for everything." She hugged her arms to herself as she spoke and looked at her mug like it personally offended her. He bit his lip as his eyes narrowed at her response. How could she make him feel even more confused than before?

"You don't have to apologize for anything." He looked away from her downcast eyes as he spoke, and found his attention caught by a picture frame surrounded by colorful faux flowers. He was just scanning over the smiling faces of his three best friends when her voice brought his attention back to her saddened face.

"I do though," she was twirling a few strands of hair around her fingers as she spoke. Her eyes didn't leave her mug and her lips were pulled into a thin line, "I wish that…" she shook her head as if to clear her jumbled thoughts. A second later she held a smile on her lips that he could tell she wasn't putting her heart into. "Nevermind, long week, sorry." She quickly said as she waved her hands absently before herself, "Ready for cocoa?"

He wanted to ask her what was bothering her so much-she seemed so happy during the seminar earlier that same day, but he felt trapped. As Chat he shouldn't know that she was acting differently than she had just hours before, he knew that but still his body betrayed his mind.

"Are you okay?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Silence followed for an agonizingly long moment as many emotions crossed over her face so quickly he couldn't decipher what any one of them meant.

"I'm fine." The smile that didn't reach her eyes was back on her lips, her words forced and her voice pitched in a way that broke his heart. He decided then that he would be back. He would visit her as Chat until she became comfortable enough to open up to him once again.

* * *

 _ **Hello dear readers;**_

 ** _It's my birthday! Well, April 1st is my birthday so I decided as a birthday gift to myself I would post this chapter a bit early so all of you could read it. Hope you all enjoyed it and as a heads up I would like to say that chapter four is already being written. I know this one is a bit longer than the other two and that they are all a bit long when compared to other fanfictions, to that I say "No worries!" The others are going to be shorter by half I'm estimating. Though there may be a couple long ones here and there it will be nowhere near the length of these setup chapters._**

 ** _Much Love;_**

 ** _Ad_**


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette woke up in a haze, Chat had visited her last night and she had ended up staying awake far later than she intended just to finish up her homework that was due at the end of the week. Between Michal's insistence of her joining him on an outing with his old friends and her own old friend taking up a couple of hours reminiscing over cocoa, she was exhausted. Chat looked as uncomfortable as she felt during most of their conversation, leaving her confused and worried about his well being. Tikki had stayed hidden in her purse the entire time that Chat was in her apartment, zipping out to question her about him when he climbed out of her window shortly before midnight. Between Tikki's worry filled questions and the papers she had due for her classes, Marinette barely got even a hint of sleep that night.

She prepared for the day in a haze, still caught up on what had happened the night before. Her musings almost causing her to miss the rose tucked into her door's marker as she exited her apartment. A simple ribbon of red was tied around the rose with her name written on it in black felt tip pen. She saw it when she turned to make sure that her door was locked tight for the day. Thoughts that maybe Chat left it for her brought a small smile to her lips before a cursory glance down the hall showed her each and every door sported a rose for whoever lived beyond them. The realization killing any chance in her mind that Chat left it for her, and sent her lips slipping into a small frown as she plucked the flower from her door. It was a simple gift, but the reason behind it was hidden to her. She glanced down either side of the hall once again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the one who left the roses on the doors, when she had no such luck she let out a slow and slightly annoyed sigh before tucking the rose into her purse beside a dozing Tikki.

She still had the rose on her mind as she stepped into the courtyard of ESMOD that morning. Her sluggish behavior was mirrored by many of her fellow students who washed past her like a wave breaking on a rock at the edge of the sea. The thought brought images of sea foam green skirts and deep grey tops to her mind, she couldn't wait to sit down in her first class so she could sketch the images out for later. The idea of the outfit put a slight skip in her step as she approached the main building of the university.

"Morning Mari!" She nearly jumped out of her skin when an arm wrapped around her shoulder, she had been so distracted by her ideas for a new outfit that she had not noticed Michal's approach at all.

"Morning." she replied after taking a moment to yawn, "did you sleep well?" she asked halfway through another yawn. He smiled and draped his arm over her shoulder as he tended to do and turned her towards her first class, how he knew to turn her that way she couldn't discern.

"Better than you did it seems." He gave her a warm smile as they headed towards the door of the wing where her class resided.

"Long night, a lot of homework kept me awake." Marinette couldn't tell him she was up so late due to a certain hero deciding to pay her a visit, and he didn't question her lie one bit. In fact his smile seemed wider as she spoke and he was studying her face carefully as if he was afraid he would never see her again. "This is my class." she said in a hushed and anxious voice when his stare became too much for her.

She didn't wait for him to answer her, instead she pulled her bag closer to herself and turned quickly to enter her classroom door. Maria, a kind girl who both looked and acted like her old friend Rose, was standing near it when she walked in. She gave the blonde a small smile as she moved to walk past her and to her sear, only to stop short when Maria grabbed ahold of her upper arm.

"Are you okay?" The question took Marinette by surprise and had her raising her eyebrows towards her hairline as her eyes opened wider than ever.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Marinette began, then stopped when she saw where Maria was looking. Marinette turned her head towards the door to see Michal standing there scowling at her. His face melded into a bright smile the second he saw her looking, then he was gone.

"He looked really angry." Maria explained softly. "It's not really like you not to say goodbye to your boyfriend either.

"My boy-" Marinette let out a soft chuckle as she shook her head, "no no, Michal is just a good friend of mine, that's all. I don't have time for boys."

"Oh, I just assumed… I mean you two are always together lately." Maria gave her a small shrug. Marinette answered her with a smile and a shrug of her own before she moved to her seat.

* * *

In the following weeks Marinette found herself growing paranoid. Her walks home had become later in the night due to the fashion club that she had joined running so late. Michal had offered to wait and walk her home every day but she had refused him, not wanting anyone else to get the wrong idea and assume their friendship was something more. The sun was just starting to set when she found herself walking out of the school every day, and by the time she got to her apartment once again night had settled in like a warm blanket. She wasn't worried about it being night, she had spent many nights on the rooftops of the buildings she now walked past in her youth. No, what was making her skin crawl on those walks home was the distinct feeling that someone was watching her the entire way.

Marinette was surprised then, when at the end of the fourth week she found none other than the city's black clad superhero sitting on her fire escape after coming home. He was hunched and curled in on himself, appearing to have fallen asleep on the cold metal stairs that he was perched on. She slowly made her way to the window that she was spying him through. Her brows furrowed as she pulled it open and leaned her head out into the crisp night air.

"Chat?" she called, watching the male jump at the sound of her voice. He turned to look at her as he blinked the sleep away from his eyes. "What are you doing out there?" she asked as she leaned out slightly to look around and make sure no one was watching from below them.

"Mmh?" Chat turned to face her quickly at the sound of her voice and gave her a small sleepy smile. "Hey there Princess, sorry to intrude." He murmured as he crawled through her open window only to fall flat on his face on her couch.

"Chat Noir, what's wrong?!" Marinette exclaimed as she rushed to his side, he only groaned and rolled his head so he could breathe better. There was sweat dampening his face and running over his mask. Marinette reached out to slowly wipe away the wetness on his skin as her face fell into a frown. "What happened?" She asked softly.

"Long day." Chat's voice wafted on the breeze that brushed past his lips and over her face. She could smell a faint trace of vomit that lingered on him. He was clearly sick, Marinette confirmed this by resting her palm on his forehead and feeling the burning heat that rested under his skin.

"You have a fever Chat, you've been working too hard." She informed him as she stood and turned to make her way to her small bathroom. She was stopped by a gloved hand on her wrist and turned her head to look down at him with a small frown upon her lips. "I need to get some medicine to get your fever down." She told him while tugging lightly on his hand to get him to release her. His arm fell heavily beside the couch as she ran unhindered to the bathroom.

"He looks like he's about to collapse." Tikki said as she flew out of Marinette's shirt pocket. Marinette nodded solemnly as she opened the mirror above her sink to reveal her medicine cabinet. She didn't reply to the hovering kwami right away as she sorted through the pill bottles before her. Only when she found the right one and had it in her hand did she turn to look Tikki in the eye.

"His kwami-" Marinette began.

"Plagg." Tikki said his name quickly as she crossed her tiny arms.

"Okay, Plagg. He may be sick to. I need you to go to Master Fu and see if he has any medicine that we could possibly give him without Chat knowing, maybe slip it into the pocket of his suit." She leaned against the sinks counter as she rested her fingers against her chin in thought.

"Medicine won't help if Plagg is sick, Master Fu would have to realign his spiritual essence. Like he did for me back when you were thirteen." Tikki tilted her head to one side as she spoke and Marinette let out a slow sigh.

"The medicine will knock Chat out, it certainly knocks me out, do you think Master Fu could perform the spell or whatever he does while Plagg is still holding Chat's transformation?" Marinette asked as her brows furrowed in concern.

"He should be able to."

"Then hurry and bring him here, tell him to ring my bell and I'll let him in. Everyone else always knocks so that will let me know it's him." With that Tikki was phasing through her bathroom wall and Marinette was heading the other way, back out into her hallway where she could see Chat's unruly hair over her couch's arm. "And here I said I didn't have any time for boys." She mumbled to herself as she shook her head. Chat couldn't be put in the same box as she put the other boys in her life, he was her friend and partner. Someone she cared about deeply and wanted to see safe no matter what. Someone who not many years ago she was ready to share her deepest secret with.

He seemed to be asleep when she positioned herself beside him once again, but his right eye snapped open at the sound of the pill bottles top popping off. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she shook two pills out onto her palm and held them out to him. His mask raised around where his eyebrow would be and she let out a soft huff of annoyance as he made no move to take her offer.

"Come on Chat, you need to take this to get your fever down. I don't need a sick cat in my apartment all weekend." She teased as she held them closer to his face. He grunted and turned to hide his face in the pillow in response to this and she let out another angry huff. "Chat…" she hoped that a sterner tone would make him listen.

"I don't wanna." was his muffled reply.

"Chat Noir you take this medicine or I am taking you to the hospital." She was beyond annoyed at this point, couldn't he see that she wanted to help him get better? Why was he being so stubborn, he came to her didn't he?

"I don't want to!" He turned to look at her as he shouted the words and she sucked in a quick breath.

"You are going to take these pills one way or another." She warned him as she crossed her arms before herself. He grunted as his eyes found the floor rather than lingering on her face.

"Why should I? Those are your basic brand of Fever reducer, lined with Codeine to help with distribution of the drug." he began as he sucked in a shaky breath. "Codeine has many side effects such as drowsiness, lightheadedness, dizziness, slow heartbeat, sedation, shortness of breath, unusual thoughts or behavior, nausea, vomiting, flushing, vision changes… the list goes on and on." Marinette sat there in shock as she listened to his words. It seemed Chat had picked up quite a bit of knowledge on different drugs and their uses and side effects while they were apart. "I will take that and go to sleep, then you will leave." He said as his eyes glazed over. "Just like she did." his voice was soft at this point and made muffled due to him hiding his face in the pillow once again.

"Chat…" she rested her hand on his shoulder and watched as he turned his face enough to stare at her with one eye. "Chat, I just want to help you get better. I'm not going anywhere I promise." She said softly before letting a small smile cross her lips. "Well, I may go to bed but that just means I'll be down the hall. I'm here for you okay." He seemed to think over her words as his eye moved to look at the couch cushion below him for a moment before looking back up at her.

"Promise?" He asked softly.

"Promise." She nodded as she spoke. Her soft word seemed to put him at ease. He pushed himself into a slouched sitting position and held out his hand as he looked down at the pill bottle on the table. She placed the pills in his palm and pushed herself into a standing position, intent on getting him a glass of water to wash them down with. When she was halfway across the room she turned to inform him of her intentions only to see him swallowing the pills dry.

"I was getting you water." She muttered as she crossed her arms and gave him a stern look.

"No need, I'm putting you out enough as is." He replied as he laid back down on her couch and let out a soft moan as his hands covered his stomach. She shook her head slowly and made her way back to his side. Without a word she pulled the blanket from where it was draped over the back of her couch and laid it over him gently before sitting on the edge of her small coffee table.

"Do you often have guys sleeping over on your couch?" Chat asked with a sleepy smirk.

"No, just a stray cat or two." she replied cheekily as she watched him struggling to hold his eyes open. "Why don't you get some sleep, never know when you have to go save some damsel in distress." She added as she patted his head just as gently as she had covered him up.

"You remember that?" his voice was heavy with sleepiness as he asked the question.

"Of course." she chuckled lightly as she removed her fingers from his surprisingly soft hair. "How could i forget the first time the great Chat Noir came to my rescue?" he only hummed in response, his eyes remaining closed as his breathing evened out. She watched him as he drifted off to sleep, a sad smile replacing the smirk she had when she knew he was watching. "I'm sorry Chat." she murmured as her shoulders slumped. The 'she' he was referring to had to be Ladybug, which meant that her trying to distance herself from him for his own good only hurt him deep down inside.

The doorbell was louder than Marinette expected it to be, it caused her to jump and cast a worried glance at the slumbering Chat before rushing to her door. She didn't have a chance to open the door before Tikki was flying around her face in a rush. She closed her eyes and waved her hands, trying to get her kwami to settle down.

"What's wrong Tikki?" She asked as she finally grabbed the small creature firmly to stop her.

"I was so worried about you!" Tikki whispered quickly. "I was halfway to Master Fu's and suddenly I had this feeling in the back of my mind like you were in danger. You don't know how scared I was, if you were hurt and Chat was too sick to help and I wasn't there and-"

"Tikki calm down, don't wake Chat. I'm fine." Marinette said quickly and as quietly as she could before turning to open the door. Master Fu was still just as she remembered him, the familiar sight brought a wave a nostalgia rushing through her and caused a small smile to play on her lips.

"Good evening Ladybug." He said as he returned her smile, "I wish we would have met again under happier circumstances."

"Tikki told you what's going on?" Marinette asked as she entwined her fingers hopefully before her chest.

"Yes, no need to worry." He said as he held up on hand. "I will do what I can without giving away who you are to him. Though I expect an explanation someday soon as to why you are withholding it from him." As his eyes met hers, Marinette felt her cheeks warming with embarrassment.

"O-of course Master. Soon, promise." She assured him as he made his way inside. She took her time closing the door so that she could calm her nerves before turning to see him setting up a plate of incense on her coffee table. She shifted uncomfortably where she stood by the door and, as if he could sense her unease, Master Fu glanced her way with a reassuring smile.

"Go prepare to sleep." He told her, "I will let myself out and Tikki can lock the door. There is a chance that Chat Noir will detransform during the process and if he isn't aware of who you are I doubt he would want you knowing who he is." Marinette rubbed her neck shyly as he spoke and nodded to his suggestion. Before walking slowly across the room towards her hallway.

"Chat…" She stopped beside him to gather her thoughts. "He's going to be alright, right?" she asked in a small whisper.

"He will be fine. Go get some sleep." She didn't wait for him to tell her again, instead she made her way quickly to her room and prepared for bed, all the while listening to the muffled sound of Master Fu's soft chanting with a worried frown creasing her brow.

* * *

Adrien groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His neck was hanging at an odd angle and was beginning to feel sore. Plagg snoring into his ear didn't help at all, neither did the fact that his surroundings were hidden in the blur he could see through his eyes. He grunted as he grabbed Plagg by the tail and held him close to his face so he could make out his kwami's features. The small black cat creature looked so peaceful that Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. He had been warned by Plagg when he first found out the kwami was feeling sick, if he transformed with him in that state then he too would get the illness. But then he had a nagging suspicion that whoever the guy was who counted Marinette's floor would return and wanted to check in on her. He should have just gone as Adrien, wanting to reconnect after years of little to no contact would have been a good enough reason. He didn't and ended up so sick that even with the increased eyesight that being Chat Noir gave him, he found it hard to fight against the swaying surroundings he passed through.

"Plagg…" He complained as the kwami snored into his face, filling his nose with the smell of camembert cheese. "Ugh, well you seem to be feeling better." He grunted as he moved to sit up.

It was then that he realized he was laid across a couch.

 _I never left Marinette's house last night. I detransformed in my sleep. What if she saw me? Not good._ The thoughts rushed through his mind as he dropped Plagg to grip his hair tightly in his hands. His eyes flicked to her hallway as he swallowed a lump that had grown in his throat.

"Plagg, Plagg wake up." He hissed as he lifted the black cat kwami close to his face. Plagg opened one eye to look him over before closing it once again. "Come on it's important." Adrien poked at Plagg with his free hand as a deep frown formed on his face. Plagg only grumbled and rolled over. "Fine." He huffed as he held the hand brandishing his ring close to his face. He called for his transformation and smirked as Plagg complained all the way into his ring. Once transformed he breathed a sigh of relief and stood to study his surroundings once more with his now enhanced eyesight. He made his way quietly through the apartment, smiling at the same pictures that he had seen a hundred times before as he walked down the hall and as silently as he could, he opened her bedroom door.

It was dark in her bedroom, but with his nightvision Chat could still make everything out as clear as day. She was still sleeping, curled on her bed with her hand resting on her phone as it sat plugged into a charger on her nightstand. Her bedroom was decorated much like the one she had at her parents house, though there was no ladder up to her bed now as it simply rested in the corner beside a pair of french doors that lead out to a small balcony covered in flowers. She looked so peaceful in her sleep that he felt like his fears for her safety the night before were reasonless and rash.

"Sweet dreams, Princess." He said around a smile as he backed away and shut her door just as cautiously as he had opened it. It didn't take him long to write her a thank you note and leave it beside her coffee maker. He then left her apartment the same way he came in, taking the extra time to make sure the window was securely shut behind him as well.

* * *

Adrien grumbled as he stepped into his office, his head throbbing after taking away the transformation and his eyes burning from the lack of visual aid. His assistant rushed up to him the moment he was through the front doors and handed him folder after folder of submitted designs from contest hopefuls. After a quick glance through them he noticed that he still did not see Marinette among those participating and felt his already annoying headache increase. Why didn't she enter? She had talent, even the horrible prick that was his father said so when they were younger. Was she worried that she would be called out for knowing him personally? He shifted to hold the folders at his side as his eyes settled on Abigail once again.

"Do you know if my two o'clock is here?" He asked as he straightened his shoulders. He had to focus on work and put thoughts of his friend to the back of his mind for now, especially with who it was he was meant to see on that particular day.

"Geez Adrien, you act like we don't already know each other or something." Adrien turned at the sound of the low gravelly voice and gave its owner a warm welcoming smile.

"Hello Luka, been a long time." He said as he offered the rocker a hand to shake. Luka Couffaine returned his smile with a playful smirk as he took his offered hand and shook it vigorously, the many chans on his wrist clattering together as he did so.

"I'm glad to see this place didn't burn down while I was away." Luka teased as they let go. Adrien chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, just below his ponytail. The memory of his half joking comment on his company the last time he saw Luka replaying in his mind all the while.

"The day's not over yet." Adrien replied with another soft chuckle as he motioned for Luka to follow him towards his personal elevator. The men walked across the lobby and stepped inside the metallic and mirror lined box before anyone else could stop and ask Adrien for advice on the latest line. The blonde breathed a sigh of relief as his black and blue haired friend leaned against the back wall.

"It is good to be back in Paris again." Luka broke the silence as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Touring is the worst, I can't wait to see mom and Juleka again."

"What about Rose?" Adrien asked, it was no secret Juleka and Rose came out as officially dating after they graduated and now lived together in the city. He was pretty sure that Luka's mom parked her houseboat as close to their apartment as possible, she always did like Rose.

"Yeah, Rose comes with Juleka nowadays. Have you seen Mari lately?" Luka's innocent question had Adrien swallowing back a lump in his throat.

"Ah, uh… no I can't say I have, I heard she started going to ESMOD though so I doubt she really has a lot of time on her hands now." Adrien quickly said. It wasn't really a lie, he hadn't seen her but Chat had. He could get by with that couldn't he?

"Didn't you talk at ESMOD recently? You didn't go see her after? I always try to make time to hang with the old group whenever I'm in town." Luka was more prying than Alya at this point and with the mirrored space around them Adrien had nowhere to look without seeing the rocker's eyes on him.

"I didn't, I am pretty busy with all this and medical school." He grumbled, the excitement of seeing Luka again gone as he scratched away at the back of his neck. He shifted uncomfortably and covered it up by acting as if he was making sure they were headed to the right floor, all the while the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he felt Luka's eyes on him.

The doors finally opened once again, much to Adrien's relief, showing them a view of his office beyond another pair of doors made nearly entirely of glass. He stepped out quickly, not waiting for Luka to follow before throwing open the glass doors ahead of him and making his way over to his desk. The folders in his hand were thrown half heartedly on the same stack as the others when he took his seat. Luka took a bit longer to glance around the room itself, this was when Adrien noticed that the rocker still had his signature red guitar slung across his back. He wondered if the other man ever went anywhere without it as he booted up his computer and secretly slipped Plagg a piece of cheese.

It wasn't long before Luka took a seat in one of the chairs across the desk from him, resting his instrument in the other one with more care than he showed his own body when he flopped down into the seat. They discussed the design of Luka's outfits for his next show for close to two hours before settling on something the rocker wanted and Adrien could realistically have ready in a months time. After business was concluded Adrien got to hear a few new songs Luka was working on that had yet to even be recorded before the rocker announced he was running late for a dinner with his mother. The blonde was just beginning to relax once again around his old friend when Luka turned to him at the elevator and gave him a bright smile.

"See you around man, I'll ask Rose to set up a lunch for all of us so we can both hang with Mari, Alya, and the others again." He said as he gave Adrien a small wave farewell.

"Oh ah… yeah um. Sure." Adrien stammered as he felt his face flush, Luka wanted to get the old group back together, as in the group of friends who got together every year during the music festival after his father finally allowed him to go the first time. It was a nice thought, a lunch with old friends, but none of them just spent the night on an old friends couch while half delusional with sickness and possibly gave away the secret that they were a superhero to said old friend.

Adrien on the other hand, had.

"Saturday sound good?" Luka asked, oblivious to Adriens plight.

"What? Oh, yeah, uh huh." Adrien looked up at Luka quickly, his friends words shocking him out of his thoughts of the night before. He still worried over what Marinette had seen, and hoped that she wasn't upset with him for hiding it for so long if she had. He would have to talk to her later, as Chat of course just to be safe, about what happened at her place the night before.

"See you then." With that Adrien was finally alone. He slumped back into his chair and let out a long exhale that finished with a groan as he pressed the balls of his hands against his eyes, he had three days to talk to her as Chat before Luka wanted them all together for lunch. Three days. Not a lot of time to work with but he's done more in less.

"You okay kid?" Plagg asked from where he sat in his own tiny chair on the desk.

"No." Adrien breathed, "but I will be."

* * *

 _ **Hello Dear Readers!**_

 _ **I'm not abandoning this. o.o Just thought you would like to know.**_

 _ **Much Love;**_

 _ **Ad**_


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette leaned back on her barstool as she stared at the message that was displayed on her phone's screen. Alya had something important to talk to her about and was on her way over. Sweat dotted her brow as she read and reread the message once again. What could be so important that Alya skipped out on work and wanted Marinette to skip half a day of school?

 _Did she find out that Chat slept over here yesterday? Does she know that he visits me? How much does she know… does she know I'm…_

A short series of knocks on her door yanked her from her thoughts. Tikki was hiding in her bedroom, and had been hiding for a good fifteen minutes now. Alya didn't know, no one knew that Marinette was once the spotted hero at Chat's side. Marinette worried that her sharp friend had somehow put two and two together and figured out her long held secret. The thoughts swirled around her mind as she made her way to the door and slowly opened it. She expected Alya to be bouncing off the walls like she always was when she found out something important, she was a reporter after all, but the Alya she met face to face was anything but.

Deep bags hung under her eyes and her glasses hungf awkwardly across her nose. Her hair was up in the usual bun but it hung sloppily at the nape of her neck her clothes looked like she had slept in them but the look on her face told Marinette that she had not slept a wink all night.

"Alya…" Marinette began only to snap her mouth shut when the other woman held up one shaking hand.

"I need a drink." Alya said then fell into thought, "no, not alcohol, coffee… no. Can I have a glass of water?" Marinette nodded quickly to her request and moved to allow her best friend inside. She made her way to the sink and pulled a cup from her drainer before filling it with water.

"Is everything okay?" She asked worriedly as she turned to hand the cup over to Alya who had taken a seat at the bar. Alya drank nearly all of its contents and placed the cup on the counter before reaching into her purse and pulling out a plastic bag with what appeared to be a large amount of tissues inside of it.

"I just found out this morning, i had my suspicions but I didn't… I haven't told Nino yet." Alya explained slowly as she pulled the tissues out of the bag and began to unwrap them. Marinette's brow furrowed, why was her best friend so terrified over what was hidden in them?

"Did something happen?" She asked as she studied Alya's face. the reporter chuckled half heartedly as she finished unwrapping the white and pink stick and held it up to show the small digital screen on it. Two blue lines, one crossed over the other, and one vertical line stood out from the off white background. No words lingered between them as Marinette stared wide eyed at the pregnancy test. Her eyes found Alyas for only a second before locking onto the test once again. The nervous way that Alya wouldn't meet her eyes and shifted in her chair caused Marinette's heart to sink. Being pregnant and married to the man she had been in love with for years should be a good thing shouldn't it?

"Alya... this is..." Marinette began.

"I'm not ready to be a mom." Alya said quickly, "I... I'm not where I wanted to be, Im not..."

"You will be." Marinette reached out to wrap her hands around Alyas shaking ones, "no one is every totally ready to be a parent but I know you Alya, you're smart and kind and the best baby sitter that I have ever seen."

"I am twenty fucking two years old Mari!" Alya exclaimed, "I have literally just started on my career path and now I will have a baby to boot."

"You have Nino, and me, and I have no strange obsessions to stop me from being the best babysitter you could ask for." Marinette insisted.

"You have school."

"Easy, I'll switch to night classes." Marinette wasn't going to allow her best friend to wallow in this grief that should not even exist. Alya let out a long slow breath and straightened her glasses with her still quivering fingers. She opened her mouth as if to speak but just then a loud thump on Marinette's window had them both turning to look towards the fire escape and the dark figure that was standing there.

Marinette's eyes felt as if they could pop out of her skull at any moment, Alya had stiffened beside her, no longer the quivering terrified woman she was when she showed up but the terrifying reporter that she had built up a reputation of being. the sound of her own heartbeat filled her ears as she watched Alya push away from the counter and fully turn her body towards the window.

"OH MY NEIGHBOR MUST HAVE COME HOME LATE ALYA," She nearly screamed, "NO NEED TO WORRY, HE TAKES THE FIRE ESCAPE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!" Alya was looking at her oddly now, she had a phony smile plastered across her face as she watched the shape freeze and slowly move towards the steps of her fire escape from the corner of her was strange to see him slinking away, wouldn't his staff be quicker?

"I think I should ask if _you're_ okay." Alya said around a sigh. Marinette chuckled nervously as her best friend wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "Are you sure that living alone isn't making you a bit nutty?" She scoffed at Alya's question and shook her head slowly as she crossed her arms.

"I am an adult," she stated before giving Alya a broad smile, "but see, that proves it. You are so ready for this I promise."

* * *

Marinette sighed as she stepped out of the office, the school administrator told her that it would take up to a month to switch her courses over to night classes. She straightened her shoulders and adjusted her bag on her shoulder as a large smile graced her lips, that would give her at least eight months to get used to the change of classes before the new baby was born, she hoped, so everything should be just fine.

The chiming of her phone from her purse caught her attention as she stepped into the crowded hallway that led to her classroom. She carefully pulled it out from under Tikki who was dozing comfortably beside a half eaten cookie. She took a moment to smile at her sleeping kwami before looking at the notification that took up the majority of her lock screen.

 ** _New message from LC:_**

 _Hey Mari, lunch saturday with the group. I'm back in town and can't wait to see your new designs._

She smiled a bit wider as she opened the message, knowing even before she loaded up the app that there would be a new group message made along with it. She glanced over the list of names for the group message before opening the one between just her and Luka.

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _OMG is that THE Luka Couffaine?! Brb, gotta go sell this phone to buy a house._

 ** _LC:_**

 _HAHAHA you haven't sent that everytime I texted you ever._

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _Just waiting for the day you say the same about me._

 ** _LC:_**

 _Psssssh. When you get famous I will be in rags bc the fangirls rip your clothes off of me._

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _Not the point, fangirls rip clothes off of you anyway._

 ** _LC:_**

 _Not just to get the clothes tho._

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _Whatever. Anyway what time saturday?_

 ** _LC:_**

 _I was thinking noon, you don't have classes right?_

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _On SATURDAY?_

 ** _LC:_**

 _No… Today. I am with Juleka rn and was jw if you wanted to get some lunch?_

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _Is Rose cooking?_

 ** _LC:_**

 _No?_

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _Are YOU cooking?_

 ** _LC:_**

 _So you are suicidal now?_

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _No I'm not and that is why I asked you lol. I don't want to die._

 ** _LC:_**

 _Offensive. I am an artist Mari._

 ** _Mari Party:_**

 _Ok pretty boy. Calm down. Anyway I have class so I can't come._

Marinette was smiling down at her phone as memories of her friends ran through her mind. She had seen them all achieve their goals, giving her hope that she would follow in their footsteps one day and become a designer to a star like Luka one day. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the presence of someone behind her looking over her shoulder.

"Who is LC?" She jumped at the sound of Michal's voice and stuffed her phone into her pocket as she turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"You scared me!" She accused as she placed one hand over her heart. He was frowning down at her with his eyebrows knitted together as she took a moment to calm herself before she answered him. "LC is a friend from my childhood, more like a brother of a friend who became a friend of mine. No big deal."

"It's a guy?" Michal narrowed his eyes as he studied her face. She gave him a small smile and nodded at his words. "Is he close to you?"

"Not really." She mumbled as she clutched the strap of her purse, "I only get to see him once or twice a year, he travels a lot." She glanced up at the way his eyes remained narrowed and his brows pulled together over them before swallowing a lump that was growing in her throat.

"Oh." An awkward silence hung between them for a moment before he rubbed his shoulder and shifted from foot to foot. "I um, I was actually here to ask you about why you were switching your classes." Marinette took a step back at his words, her eyes widening slightly as she tilted her head.

"How did you… they haven't even set up my paperwork yet." She said before she could stop herself.

"I uh, I work in the faculty office to help out." He explained quickly, "I heard that you were thinking of switching to night classes and it worried me, do you need to switch because of a job or…"

"No, no it's not that at all." She shook her head quickly as she spoke before looking down at the space on the floor between them and letting out a long sigh. "I have a friend who is going through a hard time and I can help her out during the day if I switch."

"Are you sure you need to?" He asked as he took a step towards her, causing her to take a step back.

"Of course, she's my best friend and I will do anything I can to help her out." Marinette was confident as she crossed her arms over her chest, but it was all lost on her when she saw the swirling anger that lingered behind his eyes and the way his teeth were gritted together as if he was holding back from screaming at her. The look vanished to be replaced by a bright smile when he noticed where her eyes were focused, sending a wave of panic she couldn't understand rushing through her. "Well, I gotta…" Marinette motioned to her classrooms direction as the look on Michal's face darkened. Without waiting to see if he would respond she turned and rushed down the hallway, passing her classroom without hesitation and making her way into the restroom at the end of the hall. She checked each stall as she passed by them before locking herself in the last one and sitting down.

"What's wrong?" Tikki was hovering by Marinette's head shortly after asking the question. She shifted in the air as her chosen looked up slowly and shook her head. She waited for Tikki to land on her knee before letting out a long sigh and running her fingers through her fringe.

"I just, there was something odd about the way he was looking at me and… I don't know." Marinette held her head in her hands as her eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I should apologize right?"

"Marinette, you have to listen to yourself and your feelings, if you feel strange about something it's not always your fault." Tikki reassured her.

"I overreacted too much when I was younger and I-"

"You don't want to make the same mistakes, I know." Tikki cut her off before she could finish what she was saying. "The Akuma's are gone now Marinette, you don't have to overthink yourself like you did before. Start trusting yourself like you did when you were Ladybug." Marinette jumped when she said this, and looked around quickly as if expecting a horde of people to rush her. Tikki shook her head at the sight before moving to her shoulder. "What do you want to do now?" she asked in the voice that Marinette knew as her worried tones.

"Honestly…" She sighed as she turned to look at Tikki from the corner of her eye, "I wanna go home and stop thinking for a day."

* * *

"Is that Chat Noir drinking an iced coffee?" Chat's faux ear twitched towards the sound of the woman's voice as he took a sip from the plastic cup. He slumped his shoulders before leaning back against the chimney and glanced up at the sky while the swirling clouds darkened it. For being nearly noon it felt more like dusk to him, even his night vision was kicking in causing everything to take on a green hue.

He let out a huff and watched as his breath fogged before his eyes. It had been a long day at the company but he still wanted to run a patrol of the city just in case. It was a habit that was ingrained in him from years of doing so with and without Ladybug, something he couldn't simply stop on a whim. Not that he minded, in fact he enjoyed the patrols now that he had grown used to doing them alone. They were a good source of exercise and allowed him a few stolen moments to himself, without nagging assistants or designers who either couldn't follow his wishes or were too egotistical to listen to his advice.

"You're the one who left them! How!? Why!?" He jumped at the sound of Marinette's voice and turned his head towards the sound. She sounded scared and annoyed at the same time, something he had heard a few times in the many years he had known her.

"Princess?" he asked under his breath as he moved to a crouching position on the roof tiles. It didn't take long for him to find her, in the alleyway behind her building struggling with someone wearing a thick hoodie that hid their features from him.

"Come on Mari, don't you understand? I need you! We're partners aren't we?" the man's voice made Chat's skin crawl.

"No!" Marinette screamed as she yanked her hand from his grasp, "I knew that you were being strange yesterday but to go so far as to follow me home?"

"You'll understand, you just have to come with me." the man said as he snatch ahold of her elbow and yanked her towards him. Chat was on the ground in a second and pulling him away from her. The man was carelessly tossed behind him as he focused on steadying Marinette so she wouldn't hit any of the large metal dumpsters that sat in the shadows of the alley.

"Chat?" He turned fully to her when she called out his name and gave her a reassuring smile, he opened his lips to tell her it would all be okay since he was there only to be cut off by her exclaiming "Chat watch out!" as she leapt towards him, knocking into his side and pushing him towards the wall of her building just as a piece of wood connected with the side of her head. Marinette crumpled as the sound of the impact echoed in the small space. Chat was torn in that moment between rushing to her side and checking to see if she was okay or tearing the other man's face off in rage. How could anyone hurt Marinette?

The sounds of the man running away barely registered in his ears as the soft groans of Marinette's pain filled the air. Chat was by her side in a moment, one of his hands rested on her shoulder as he moved her hair away from her eyes carefully. She hissed in pain as her fringe was pulled away from the wound above her temple. He pulled his hand away quickly as he winced at the sight of her pain.

"Come on, I'll get you patched up." he murmured as he scooped her into his arms. "Just keep your eyes closed for a bit, but don't go to sleep okay." she grumbled against his chest as he shifted to grab his staff. "This is the quickest way, sorry." he added in a soothing tone as he extended the staff.

"Chat?" he heard her ask under her breath before she was clutching onto him for dear life as they sped through the air and over the rooftops of Paris.

* * *

"Don't open your eyes yet Princess, I still haven't gotten there." Chat breathed against her ear as he cradled her to his chest. His heart was beating a million miles an hour as he looked down at the small trail of blood cutting its way down her left cheek. He hadn't had a chance to so much as think of his friends for the last four years and now suddenly one of the ones he considered his closest was bleeding out against his chest and whimpering pitifully as the rain pounded against them.

It was ironic really, they had become friends in the rain, he had even said goodbye to her and the others in the rain. It was the same day that Paris discovered that none other than his own father was the one wreaking havoc on their beloved city. Her cheeks had been red then too, flushed with tears as she watched the others hugging him tightly and letting him know that he was not his father. Marinette had watched the scene in silence, crying tears that blended in with the thick drops of water falling on them from the ever darkening sky. The scene had been lit with flashes of red and blue, police lights. He could still remember the way they bounced off her eyes, causing them to seem like they housed so much more than just sympathy for his pain.

Another whimper caused him to glance down once again. Her eyes were still closed tightly just as he had instructed her to before leaping at the dark haired masked male who had her pinned in that alley. He didn't know who that man was, but he had already vowed that he would see his blood was clotting now but still ran in thin pink streams across her face where the water mingled with it and carried it towards the ground. He felt a growl rolling from his chest at the sight of it, he wouldn't just see the man's downfall, he would kill him with his bare hands if given the chance.

"It hurts…" she moaned as she turned to press her forehead against his chest. That bastard had hit her hard on the head with something resembling a small bat, he got there just in time to see her crumble. Luckily she had not passed out from the force or pain. A strike like that could've caused serious damage to her brain and skull. Her eyes were open when he landed, giving him hope that her probability of a concussion was minimum at best. Her eyes had not closed until he told her to close them. All good signs, she wasn't confused or disoriented. In fact that blow barely seemed to affect her other than splitting her perfect skin. That was a crime in its own right, no one harmed _his_ princess and got away with it.

"Shhh," he urged as he held her closer to himself, "we're almost there. Then I can look at that for you alright Princess?"

"We're almost where?" she croaked.

"My apartment. The Chateau"

"What! Chat no! You can't take me to your apartment what if I-"

"Find out who I am," he cut her off as he passed under the glowing orange light of a street lamp, "I don't really see how that is a problem at this point, but don't worry alright? I keep my two lives separate still." she stilled at the realization that he not only had his own place, but two of his own places. One for in the mask and one for out of it. He couldn't help the small smirk that played over his lips as her own formed into a small circle. Well, that was one way for a civilian to find out that Paris' superhero was loaded.

"O-oh." She finally managed to force out of her parted lips. He had to force the chuckles to stay down as he watched her glance quickly back up at his face as shock settled on her features, her eyebrows were drawn nearly into a single solid line as her lips pressed into a thin line. She was studying his face, more than likely attempting to see past the inky black mask around his eyes, the sheer concentration on her features was making her look absurdly cute. It was becoming harder and harder for Chat not to stop and laugh loudly into the dark night sky over just how cute she still looked after all these years.

The rain had began to let up as he crossed the deserted street, making a beeline to the modern looking building with large windows surrounding it on every side. His second apartment building. He had been walking in silence for nearly ten minutes by that time, her head resting lightly against his shoulder as her arms folded over her small stomach. She was breathing normally, which was good, but he knew that it wouldn't be long now before he had to wake her up and run a quick diagnostic on the extent of her injuries before he could allow her to sleep for the remainder of the night. Crossing the threshold to the building had him being met with a quick curt "Mr. Noir." from the sleepy eyed doorman at the front desk. It was helpful that he was loved by most of Paris still, even after the disappearance of his lady. It brought with it a sort of respect that allowed him to take an apartment out in his alter egos name, one that came with the perk of privacy. His doorman didn't look twice at him as he walked through the wide front hall of the building, neither did the elderly Mrs. Choupãn who was making her way down to check her mail as she always did, was it four pm already? He chuckled at the thought as the steel doors of the elevator cut him off from the scene playing out before him.

"Mm, whatzit." He smiled down fondly at the small woman shifting in his arms.

"Almost there now." His breath fanned over her hair causing her fringe to shift with it as he spoke. She simply grumbled and shifted to cuddle further into his leather clad chest after that, grumbling under her breath about how wet leather felt odd against her skin. Another wave of chuckles threatened him, but he managed to swallow them down before the vibrations of his chest could rouse her from her slumber once again. Careful not to jolt her during his action, he reached over to the buttons lining the wall beside the double doors, slowly sliding his keycard into its slot before returning his hand to her shoulder to steady her before she fell. The elevator dinged loudly before a low hum surrounded them, they were on their way up to his penthouse apartment now.

Chat had purchased the three apartments that made up the upper floor of the place, tore down walls here and there and added a few as well, making a large open concept home that the elevator opened up to the front door of. The walls were painted plain white in the main rooms and a light olive green in his bedroom and the two guest rooms the apartment housed. Three kitchens worth of stainless steel appliances made up one large kitchen that was open to him as soon as he strode through the front door, all he had to do was turn right and there would be a fridge for Cheese, Wines, and everything else he could need. The cheese fridge was full of only camembert, his kwamis favorite food and the one thing he seemed to be constantly running out of. To the right of the three large appliances, at a slight angle, rested his deep grey marble countertops and built in stove top. He barely used it, but the fact that right below it was three large stoves that seemed ready to cook a full five course meal made him smile at the thought that maybe someday he would find time to put them to use. Sitting on the left of the large stove when he was looking directly at it was an industrial sized dishwasher and more marble countertop, covered in appliances that had not seen a single day of use since their purchase.

To the left of the front door was the dining area, well what should have been a dining area but had somehow become just a large oak table covered in maps of the city. Many buildings had been crossed out in thick red marker on these maps, remnants of his futile attempts at finding Ladybug after her sudden retirement. The last time he had gone over those maps was barely six months ago, the anniversary of the day they first met, the day he finally accepted she wouldn't return to him. The tick papers were covered in layers of dust now, he thought idly that he should clean them up before his princess awoke from her slumber as he carried her past them. She didn't need to think he was a crazy person after all, he wasn't like that anymore.

He moved them past the sight quickly and around the tastefully designed column that hid a load bearing post to step into his living room area. It was adorned with a red carpet that offset the plain white walls, with dark inky black leather couches set in a half circle before the flat screen tv resting atop its plush surface. He moved her to the middle most couch, laying her down gently, as he took a seat on the glass topped oval coffee table that sat before it. The lights from the city were pouring in from the floor to ceiling windows along the outer wall, bathing Marinette in gold and pale blue tones that made her seem as if she could be leaving the mortal coil at any moment. Partially due to the feeling boiling in his gut at the sight and partially due to his need to get a good look at her head, he reached behind himself for the square flat black device that waited on the table. With the simple tap of a few buttons on the tablets screen the room was bathed in harsh white light reminiscent of a hospital.

"Princess." He urged as he returned the device to where he had retrieved it from, "Princess, come on. Lets wake up so doctor Chat can get a good look at you hmm?" He shook her shoulder as he spoke in a soft, sing song voice. He had seen Alya coax her awake in much the same way back when they were still teenagers and their lives hadn't been turned upside down over and over again.

"Mmmm, five more minutes, classes are late today," was her softly yawned response.

"I know, it's really early but if I don't look at it now I may be too late if you have a concussion." He prodded as he shook her shoulder once again.

"I don't even know any russians." She huffed in her still mostly asleep state. The laughter that her response pulled from him had her shooting straight up on the couch, wide eyed and in a defensive position.

 _Huh, she must have taken karate or something._

"Chat?" She questioned as she blinked slowly to clear her blurry vision, "What are you doing at my house, I was outside, with.." her eyes widened as she brought her hands up to cover her gaping mouth. Her eyes flashing between Chat and her reflection behind him.

"Yeah, that guy hit you pretty hard there, you said that was outside your building? Does he know where you live, like your apartment number?" He asked her as he reached forward to gently move her fringe away from her head wound.

"N-no, but he knows the floor." she winced as his clawed hand pulled some matted hair from the gash in her skin, "he, he left a rose addressed to me at every door on it." she added as he studied the wound.

"How romantic." he practically spat the words.

"I would classify it as psycho creepy myself." she shrugged as he sat back, studying her face to see if she was being serious or not. After a few moments she cracked a smile and he followed her lead in shrugging at the information, a happy patient was well, a happy patient. If she was up for cracking jokes at what happened, who was he to refuse her. "Still," she sighed, bringing him out of his thoughts, "I think I should look into moving as soon as possible." She wouldn't meet his gaze as she spoke. Choosing to watch the city from the window instead, or what she could see beyond the glare of the lights in the room.

"I think that's a good idea on your part." he agreed wholeheartedly with her decision, the guy knew where she lived, he could easily harass her and possibly really hurt her the next time. Just the thought of her returning to anywhere that the creep knew about had Chats protective instincts flaring up.

"A good idea, yeah." She reached for her phone only to frown at the cracked screen she was presented with when she pulled it from her jacket pocket, "Must've hit the wall at an odd angle." she murmured as she pressed the home button to cut on the device.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he finished the task of pulling the thin hairs of her fringe from the clotted blood along her hairline.

"I thought about calling Alya but," she shrugged and gave a soft sigh as she waved her phone around nonchalantly in one hand, "It's already nearly five and well, she's pregnant and possibly not in the mood to deal with a homeless friend right now."

"Alya, the Ladyblogger?" They both winced at the question but neither took notice of the others distress, "She's pregnant?" he choked on the saliva that had suddenly gathered in the back of his throat, why hadn't she or Nino gotten ahold of him? He heard they had gotten married, hell he had the invitation hanging on the fridge in his civilian apartment but hadn't been able to attend due to his injuries that he acquired during what he thought of as his second job. In return for his absence he had bought them the four most expensive things on their registry.

"Mmm, she told me yesterday. They want it to be a surprise but she couldn't keep it in around me." She flashed him a smile so sweet that he could feel his heart melting at the very sight of it. Speaking of sights, his eyes flicked back to the cut and he could feel his pupils thinning to slits in anger.

"Do you know the guy who did this to you?" he asked in a hushed tone. She nodded slowly before wincing and holding her pounding skull in both hands as he stood and made his way to the kitchen to grab a cloth and run it under warm water. With the cloth damp and not too hot he made his way back to where he had been sitting before and shooed her hands away from her face.

"His name is Michal, h-he takes a few classes with me and we partnered up on a few assignments. I guess he got tired of me turning him down." She sighed as Chat went to work on cleaning away all the traces of blood from her skin that he could. The cut wasn't bad, it was long but not too deep, which was good because it curled up into her hairline in a way that would make stitches impossible without shaving it. The way it was now, all he needed was to apply a plaster, maybe some gauze around her head to hold it in place, and she should be good to go in a week and a half tops. It was simple.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be his partner anymore princess." Chat chuckled and held his hands up in surrender at her annoyed glare.

"I wasn't planning on it." She murmured as she followed his silent instructions to hold the rag up to her cut. When he was pleased with how she was holding it he slipped out of the room and down what appeared to be a hallway just off from the kitchen. His absence gave her time to really _look_ around the space and, she wasn't sure what she was expecting but a modern upscale penthouse just didn't scream Chat Noir to her. All the whites greys and reds didn't help her imagine him in this space either, to her Chat Noir would always be surrounded in Blacks and greens, not these soft colors that were assaulting her eyes now. She slipped from the couch into a wobbly standing position before patting down her pockets carefully in search of her nearest and dearest friend. Tikki nuzzled into her hand as soon as it brushed against her head and Marinette let out a soft relieved sigh. Her eyes drifted around the apartment as she turned in a slow circle, the place was spotless save for a pile of dust covered papers on his dining room table. She moved to get a better look at them and noticed the red X's crossing out most of the buildings around the city on the map. Her brow furrowed as she wondered what they could mean.

"I see you're well enough to walk." she turned to see Chat holding up a basket full to the brim with first aid supplies and her heart sank. Without Ladybugs lucky charm all his injuries would have to be tended to manually, it made sense that he would keep first aid supplies stocked in his home.

"I didn't mean to pry." she said softly as she turned away from the maps, "You were gone for a while."

"I was gathering what I needed." He strode to her side confidently and cupped her elbow with one hand to turn her back towards the couches, "let's get you sat down so I can bandage you up." She nodded meekly as he lead her to where she had awoken and urged her to sit down. Once that was done he brushed her hair back and began to apply a stinging liquid around her injured area, "Alcohol to clean the wound." he said when she hissed and locked her eyes on his face. His skills in bandaging her were quick and precise, she could only chalk it up to the fact that he had to have done this to himself many times before.

"You are good at this." she mumbled as she studied her reflection in his large windows, reaching up to touch the bandage encasing her forehead as she did so. He chuckled as he put away the remnants of his tools and gave her a small shrug in return.

"I was thinking," his voice pulled her attention from the window and to his downcast eyes, "You can't stay there but I doubt you really have the money saved up to leave on a whim right? What if you stayed here until you saved up for a new apartment. I could use someone to look after the place and you could use a place to stay."

"Are you asking me to move in with you Chat Noir?" Marinette couldn't help the wary smile that played on her lips as she asked the question.

"Well, I mean I wouldn't be here the majority of the time.." He wouldn't look at her as he mumbled the words, she felt her smile become something more genuine at the sight of him. His cheeks had grown red from embarrassment and his mumbled words told her he was concerned she was taking it the wrong way.

"So you want me as a house sitter then? Are there any house rules I need to follow?" She chuckled around her words, causing him to look up with what looked to her like hope in his eyes.

"N-not really, other than don't look in my room if I'm sleeping here. I can't hold the transformation all night." he gave her a half smirk and suddenly she was fourteen again, standing on her balcony as the black clad boy attempted to cheer both of them from their heartache. She found herself wondering if this man still trusted her like he had back then, maybe that was why he was offering her a place to stay. Even if he didn't know who she really was, or use to be, he seemed to need her in that moment.

"It could be good, I can keep your place clean and even go out to shop for your supplies if you ever need more." she mused as she looked around, was she really going to live in a place like this virtually alone? "Michal wouldn't know where I was either, which is good for me." A thought struck her in that moment. "Oh, my stuff! Would I be able to move my belongings here? It's not much but I do need quite a few of my things for school."

"I can easily get them for you, either by calling some movers or just going to your place myself." He answered with a shrug. It all seemed so easy, a bit fast, and too good to be true. Could she really stay in Chats hideout without anything happening that could give one or both of them away? She would have to be careful about talking to Tikki and would have to avoid his room like it was the plague if she wanted to really stay there. Her eyes met his and his warm smile filled her mind. Chat was a good guy, and even if she couldn't bring herself to done the old suit and help him fight she could still help him as her civilian self. He looked lonely, lonelier than she had ever seen him look when they were partners. This Chat, the one standing before her now, needed a friend. That fact was what spurred her on, what made her nod in approval to his suggestion and follow him as he lead her to a bedroom close to the front of the apartment.

The room he gave her was larger than her old one, roughly the same size as her living room and dining area combined, and housed a single king sized bed, a wardrobe, a vanity, and a door that she discovered lead to and ensuite. The bathroom was slightly smaller than the bedroom, sporting a full size tub as well as a waterfall shower. It also held a large mirror with a double sink directly under it beside another door that she discovered lead to a small room that housed a single toilet. In any other apartment this would be considered the master bed and bath, but if she were to take Chats shy explanation seriously this was only one of three guest rooms his apartment housed.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" He asked as she slipped her jacket off and placed it at the foot of the large bed. She glanced at him over her shoulder and shook her head lightly in answer to his question.

"I think I will just shower and turn in for the night. I will have to call an Uber in the morning and take that to school but it shouldn't be too big of a deal." she mumbled after a moment of silence between them.

"Oh, um, right. Well I will be in the apartment so all you have to do is press and hold the button by your door if you need me. Its and intercom system I set up a few months ago when I was bored out of my mind. It makes it easier to keep up with my kwa-" his eyes reached hers at this point and he coughed into his fist quickly, "My uh, friend, cat, thing uh, nevermind that. Goodnight Princess" he turned to leave.

"Why are you calling me that?" she asked as she studied his tensed back, "You can call me Marinette, or even Mari okay?" she asked when he didn't continue on his way out of the door.

"Sorry. I just, I'm use to calling you Princess I guess." she watched him scratch the back of his neck as he spoke and felt herself frown, was one nickname really that big of a deal?

"I guess, it's okay. But just in the apartment okay?" she mumbled as she looked down at her feet. He turned to flash her a large smile and nodded once in return.

"It's a deal, Princess." With that he was gone, leaving her alone to ponder what she was going to do next.

* * *

 _ **Hello Dear Readers!**_

 _ **I promised shorter chapters and this one is 1k shorter than the first one (that's progress right?) Anyway, this was the last of the set up chapters.**_

 _ **coming soon: PLOT**_

 _ **I hope you all enjoyed reading this and will come back for more in the future and, as always...**_

 _ **Much Love;**_

 _ **Ad**_


	6. Chapter 6

The first few days staying at Chat's apartment were quiet. Chat left before she woke up on the first morning, a note explaining he had day work to attend to, and apologizing for having nothing really edible in the fridge, was left on the kitchen counter for her. She wouldn't have even seen it if Tikki had not been exploring the large living space while she prepared for the day. Marinette felt a sense of relief wash through her when she realized that he was holding true to his word, she would be alone in the apartment for the most part.

Along with the note he left her a keycard that was black with a cats paw design on it as well as a silver key. She found herself looking down at them every so often during the first three days alone and giggling at the thought that they fit the name of his home perfectly. He would always have a thing for puns it seemed, now that they were older she was used to them and even allowed herself to enjoy a few if he wasn't around to see her do so. She spent those three quiet days learning her way around the apartment, avoiding the room with the roughly scrawled "Chat only" taped to the door. It was quite large, larger than her apartment and her parents bakery put together.

It was on the fourth day that she discovered the other Kwami. She woke up late at night, just before midnight, and stumbled into the kitchen. She was swallowing continuously in order to rid herself of a dry throat as she made her way to the overly large sink for a glass of water. There was an odd sharp smell of old cheese, followed by a quick flash of a deeper black than the shadows around her that caught her eye as she stumbled her way into the kitchen. She paused in her journey, turning towards the odd sight, and felt her dry throat growing a lump of unease within it.

A small black cat with eyes that faintly glowed green in the darkness, was hovering in midair holding up a slice of camembert cheese. That was where the odd smell came from. She knew right away that it was Chat's kwami, Tikki had spoken of him so often yet Marinette still had a bit of trouble remembering his name.

"You like cheese?" She asked, the question rolling from her lips even as her mind still struggled over what to do with the knowledge that he was there. What would happen if he saw Tikki? Would he tell Chat who she was? She didn't have long to ponder the questions in her mind because after the words left her lips he swallowed the lump of cheese while staring her in the eye, then he spoke.

"No, I don't like cheese at all." His voice was gravely yet nasally at the same time, something that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end in response.

"But you just ate-" Marinette began.

"I didn't eat anything." He insisted, "Maybe you need to get your eyes checked girl." She didn't know why exactly, but the way he pointedly said girl caused her to step back as a rush of hot anger ran through her. It lasted only a moment before the kwami was turning from her and lazily making his way down the hall. She watched him go with a dumbfounded, open mouthed expression.

"Marinette?" She looked down to see Tikki peeking out from behind her, a concerned frown on her face as she studied her miraculous holder. "Don't take Plagg the wrong way-" _right,_ Marinette thought, _his name is Plagg._ "-He's not usually so grumpy, I'm sure he's just stressed, after all Chat Noir has to take on the full load of being the hero of Paris now." Marinette frowned, she knew that Tikki was trying to make her feel better but her words were just making it worse.

She shuffled the rest of the way to the sink and made herself a glass of water, which she downed before making her way back to her room. The short interaction with Plagg left a sickening feeling of guilt in her chest. The feeling wasn't new to her certainly, she had often fought with it over the years as she watched Chat struggling with the criminals and disasters on his own.

The silence of her room held a weight to it as she crawled into her bed that night. It pressed into her when she pulled the duvet over her body, causing her heart to sink deeper into her chest as she closed her eyes. She felt so weak. Chat was the strong one between them. He was the one who continued on serving the citizens of Paris when she buckled under the pressure.

There had been moments, in the past, when she was ready to take back her decision and rejoin Chat. Whenever he was injured publicly or whenever Alya brought up things he was struggling through on his own. There was a drug ring he took down just the year before that Alya praised highly, it was the last time that she had the internal struggle.

And now she was having it again.

"Marinette?" She buried herself deeper into the thick blankets as Tikki called out for her. She often ignored her kwamis call when she was feeling particularly low. Tikki knew this and responded to her silence by nuzzling into her cheek gently. "He's okay now Marinette, you know that." She assured as she rested against the dark locks of Marinette's hair.

"He hasn't forgiven me. He can't have." Marinette mumbles after a moment in which Tikki thought she drifted off to sleep. The words lingered in the air, hovering around them like some taboo had been breached. The only sound filling their room was the soft ticking of the clock on the bedside table.

"Marinette…" Tikki murmured long after it was too late to respond. Marinette simply slid down further on her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut tightly against the urge to cry. Plagg hadn't forgiven her clearly, so what right did she have to hope that Chat Noir had?

* * *

"And if you look to your left you will see… more tiny clothes!" Alya exclaimed in her best salesman voice as they walked down the aisle. Marinette gave her best friend a gentle smile but couldn't force herself to laugh. After the long night of self pity she thought she could take her mind off of things by joining Alya and Nino on a shopping trip, unknowing that her friends would be wearing their matching jackets that Marinette made for them, jackets that were styled to resemble their alter egos from the past. The memories of the days that she helped Chat came back to her in full force, almost mockingly in how they flashed through her mind.

"Look babe," Nino slid into Marinette's line of sight holding up a deep green onesie with a wide smile on his face. "It says 'Get me a bottle in da crib.' Our little DJ would look great in this."

"Oh yeah, what about this then?" Alya held up another onesie, this one proclaiming 'unicorns exist' on a soft pink background.

"Come on babe, our boy won't like pink."

"Excuse me! We are having a girl."

"Look, Mom said it was totally going to be a boy."

"And I say it's going to be a girl, is your mom carrying this baby? No!"

Marinette tuned out their argument as she turned to run her hand over the tulle of a small skirt. Alya told her Nino was practically jumping from wall to wall in excitement when she told him they were having a baby, and that he was extremely hands on with many of the preparations they were going through. She remembered the two of them giggling as Alya described him talking to the prenatal doctor about everything he researched online the night before their first appointment. They were looking more and more like parents now; when she first told Marinette about it Alya looked like a scared child, unsure of what to do next, and now she looked more like a woman who has been through it too many times to count. Their child was a lucky one, even if it was still just the size of a jelly bean.

"Marinette?" She felt a sharp but quick pain in the back of her neck as she looked up quickly to see a mousy haired woman with large spectacles staring at her over the rack of tiny dresses. "Marinette Dupain Cheng? It's been ages." She gave the young woman a small nod and a smile.

"Oh, hey Sabrina." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she shifted from foot to foot. "How… how've you been?"

"I've been good, busy," Sabrina waved her hand in a distracted manner as she spoke. "My papa is retired now since the whole incident with.. Well."

"Yeah." Marinette allowed her hand to shift from her ear to rest alongside her neck. Shortly after officer Roger drove away with Hawkmoth, Gabriel, in tow he was shot in the back of his shoulder by the designer. Marinette spent many worry filled nights stressing over what would have happened if the man got to his gun faster that day. More than just Adrien were affected by that day, a truth that Marinette and Chat Noir had to live with for years.

"It was good to see you." Sabrina gave her a polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, in fact, as she studied the girl closer, Marinette noticed just how tired and out of focus her eyes were.

"Yeah, Sabrina is everything okay?" She questioned.

"Oh, yeah um, Mayoral things, you know." Marinette didn't even crack a smile as the other woman chuckled idly. "Just dealing with a lot of things. Youngest Mayor in Paris, and they certainly let me know it."

"I bet, I've seen a few of your speeches though. You're doing a good job." Marinette assured her as she shrugged.

"Well, it certainly helps that Paris isn't being destroyed every other day now."

"Oh yeah…" she certainly didn't want to stay on the topics of akumas, especially with Alya so nearby. Though Sabrina didn't seem to really be interested in continuing the conversation either. "What I'm, what are you doing in the infants section anyway?" She winced at her poor topic change but the red head across from her barely seemed to notice.

"Well, Max and I are thinking of adopting. We tried for a couple years but unfortunately no luck." Sabrina sighed after speaking and shook her head. A moment passed as Marinette struggled to think of something to say. However she never got a chance to speak as a shrill ringing filled her ears.

"Sorry, it's the office." Sabrina said as she pulled a phone from her purse. "It was nice talking to you."

"Yeah." Marinette said with a small wave as the other woman turned and walked away from her, the phone already pressed to her ear.

"Ready to look at cribs?" She smiled as Alya laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her best friend a small nod. It was nice spending the day with both of them, she knew that Nino wasn't exactly excited about hanging out with his wife and her bestie from school. It was an overwhelming experience for him and usually he would find any excuse not to do exactly what he was doing with them. However, his excitement for the baby overtook everything. Nino had always been a very hands on person, he would put his all into projects even if they failed and he never backed down from the challenge. Marinette knew that he would be the same towards his child, another reason it was the luckiest baby she knew.

Their shopping adventure took them to a few other stores where she stood back as the couple argued over feeding and what kind of car seat would best fit their child. It was odd, she was so used to the two of them still acting like lovesick teens around each other. It felt like one day they were just the dating couple everyone else turned to in school, then the next they were married and starting a family. Marinette hadn't even thought about starting her own family since she was sixteen, she was a part time superhero then and never saw herself giving up that life. After that it was a blur of helping her parents and many attempts at getting in to art school, there hadn't even been any time for her to allow a boy into her thoughts.

"I am an intellectual." Alya insisted as they looked over mobiles for cribs. "I say we go with the one that plays Mozart so our baby can appreciate the classics."

"I am a part time DJ and I say the baby will be so used to my music that the classic stuff will keep it up all night." Nino shot back with a proud smirk.

"What do you think Mari?" She jumped a bit when she was addressed and let out a soft awkward giggle.

"Well, what about a quiet one, you two could get a radio for the baby's room and switch out the genres between classic and club and the baby can have a little of both?" She didn't know when she became so non confrontational about everything but physical fighting, her body certainly seemed always ready to throw a punch and put someone in their place, her mind however did not.

"Not helpful Mari, you were supposed to agree with me." Alya complained in the same playful manner she always did. She gave Marinette a warm smile before turning back to study the mobiles.

The store they were in was located in the same area of Paris as Chat's apartment building. She could see the modern shape of it along the skyline when she turned to gaze out the window and found herself wondering if he was at home, or if he was in his other home far away from their part of the city. His other home, as far as she knew, could be a manor in the hills or even something like the mansions located to the west side of the city. She was so into thinking over his living condition that she didn't notice her friends moving further into the store as they continued their conversation.

When she finally turned around she found herself alone at the front of the store, the expecting couple nowhere in sight and strangers filling the aisles everywhere she turned. She swallowed a lump growing in her throat as she reached into her pocket for her phone. The cracked screen made it hard for her to unlock it, but on her third try it gave in and allowed her to gain access to her contacts. She scrolled through the list until she found Alya's number and placed the phone against her ear. Her bottom lip slipped between her teeth as she listened to it ring, no tone cut through the store so she figured the reporter finally had her phone on silent. It made sense, it was a big day for her and her husband.

With a sigh she cut the call short and slipped her phone back into her purse. She was close to the Chateau anyway, may as well get back so she could call the dean about her class transfer and get something to eat. The food she'd bought a few days before hadn't even been touched so she doubted Chat was coming or going from the penthouse lately.

* * *

Chat let out a soft groan as he laid back against the leather couch and closed his eyes. Civilian criminals were such a pain lately that he found himself wishing for just one akuma, and not even because he wanted to see Ladybug again, he did, but it would just be nice to fight someone who wouldn't try suing him for a change. His phone rested on the coffee table, the call on speaker and the Mayor rambling on about the group of robbers claiming he used 'excessive force' in their capture.

"Did I shoot them?" He questioned her, "I'm pretty sure that I didn't but I may be confused by the medicine I have to take due to being shot, by them."

"We have to keep the peace Chat Noir." The sigh that followed the Mayor's words could be described as tired, but Chat was too annoyed by the fact she was attempting to reprimand him again to care.

"Look, I can't stroll into court without that judge asking me to remove my mask again." He grumbled out as he leaned forward. "What he doesn't seem to realize is my mask is magic and practically a part of my skin."

"Are you telling me you're Chat Noir all the time?" Her question caused a slight smirk to tug at the corner of his lips.

"As far as you know." He answered her. His faux ears twitched towards the door as the sounds of the elevator reached them. Someone was coming up from the first floor. He sighed and ran a gloved hand down his face.

"Look, I will make it go away only because Agreste is going to give me his endorsement in the next election. He likes you, for whatever reason."

"It's because I am Pawsitively amazing, how many times do I have to tell you?" He asked, his smirk taking over his features for a moment before it fell once again. The sound of the elevator was drawing too close for comfort. The possibility that it could be Marinette riding up on it was increasing with every second and the Mayor was still nowhere near finished talking to him.

"You are certainly up on your own ego." He wanted to chuckle, but was too busy listening for the damned elevator. "One of these days he is going to get tired of paying to clean up your mess."

"I doubt it." He snorted as he reached for his phone.

"I can hear your claws clanking on the screen Noir, you better not be thinking of hanging up on me."

"Who? Me? Never." He scoffed, already unlocking the phone to do just that. He could hear Marinette at the door now. The jingling of her keys caused his ears to perk up.

"I swear if you so much as tap that phone screen I'll-" he clicked end on the call just as the door to the Chateau opened behind him.

"Chat?" He turned to smile at Marinette over the back of the couch.

"Well, good afternoon Princess, have fun today?" He asked as he watched her cross over to the kitchen.

"Why do you ask?" She countered as she pulled a smoothie from their shared fridge and took a careful sniff. He was quiet as she took a sip from it and leaned against the counter. "I went shopping with my friend, Alya, and her husband. Didn't know that being the Godmother meant I had to be the moderator in their arguments."

"If you're a moderator then technically it's a debate." Chat pointed out with a smirk.

"You may be Paris' Hero but I can still kick your ass." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

"You aren't a good moderator." He pouted and moved as she sat down on the couch beside him. The smoothie sat on the table by his phone, the two of them simply enjoyed the silence for a moment, then she broke it with a heavy sigh.

"I can't even start to imagine how they will be after she has it."

"The baby?"

"Yeah." She leaned further into the letter as she let a small sigh escape her nose. "It's just, one minute we're kids and the next they're having one and it's weird to think about."

"We haven't been kids for a while though." He stretched and allowed his arms to hang over the back of the couch.

"Well, unlike you Mr. Hero, they were allowed to be kids." He paused and glanced at her from the corner of his eye when she said this. A few seconds passed where he fought against himself over if she was referring to the akumas he fought or his life under his father's thumb. Of course, logically, it would be the former option. There was no way she could know that he was Adrien under the mask. No one knew, the one person he would ever willingly tell disappeared the night she left him at the hospital.

"I mean…" He began. "I was out clawing up akumas and being a purrfect fighting machine so…" She snorted as he shrugged and he felt a smile drift across his face. "You liked my pun."

"I would give it a seven." She admitted after a short pause.

"Out of ten?" He asked, then smirked as he glanced out the window, "I am pretty _meow_ volous at puns."

"Out of fifty." As she deadpanned the words he gasped and grabbed at his chest, flinging himself dramatically across his coffee table.

"You've wounded me worse than any akuma!" He exclaimed.

"Well now you're just being dramatic." Marinette rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"Cold Princess, real cold."

"If I was warm you'd have me covered in marshmallows."

"Kinky." She opened her mouth to retaliate, her face already morphing into a bright red hue. Her hand went up, one finger pointing accusingly at him as bubbles of laughter drifted up his chest.

"I have a test to study for." She grumbled, ducking her head as he allowed the chuckles to fall from his lips.

"How convenient." he called out as she headed down the hall.

'Don't Test Me Chat Noir!" He went from merely chuckling to laughing heartily as she called back to him. He wanted to ask if that was a promise, but something in him told him he had already taken the teasing too far. He pulled himself back onto the couch and let out a weary sigh. Three days he'd been patrolling the streets around her apartment, keeping an eye out for any sign of her attacker but none had revealed themselves.

The guy practically vanished into thin air. He looked first for the hoodie, then the scent, and nothing turned up. All that was left behind was the weird board that looked like it was almost a bat, and that left him with little to nothing at all. On top of his fruitless searching, he was dealing with the Mayor and Abigail and the company. Luka's designs were running late and they hadn't even settled on a solid fabric. He wanted to have them ready by the group lunch but that was impossible in the moment.

He groaned as he pressed his palms against his eyes. The stress of everything was causing his muscles to stay tensed and he was harboring a headache right behind his eyes that Plagg didn't seem in too much of a hurry to help cure. He would have to let something go, it would be easy to tell Luka the fall line was more pressing in the moment, that they had to push his designs back a bit while they finish it up for the Fashion Show in September. It was the easiest thing for him to knock off his list.

* * *

Alya paced around the apartment as she typed furiously on her phone. The satisfaction of winning an argument was dampened by two things, it was with her best friend and it was over messenger. After Marinette ditched them during their shopping trip she found herself so full of worry that she dragged Nino all the way to her apartment. The nice older lady who now lived there let them know that it had been nearly a week since "that sweet girl" moved out, and that the apartments changed tennents very quickly.

Needless to say, Alya was now not only worried, but enraged. The text conversation was so vague on Marinette's end that all the warning lights were flaring to life in her head, sirens and screams to boot. All she could think was that Marinette had gotten into some sort of trouble, kept it to herself, and was now living in hiding somewhere. Not at her parents bakery, Alya had already checked.

She slammed her fingers against the screen as she demanded for the other girl to call her immediately once again only to get shot down by her, once again. She grunted as she flopped down on her couch and threatened to sic Chat Noir on her if she didn't tell her something about what was going on.

 **Mari-**

I don't think Chat would bother coming after a simple civilian. I haven't broken any laws and I am safe. I'm as safe as I can possibly be. Just can't explain why right now. Trust me, okay?

She growled as she read over the message again and again, ready to throw her phone across the room and go out looking for the ditz herself. She had to still be in the city, there was no way that she would stop going to the school of her dreams, and she had accompanied them earlier today. If only Alya hadn't been so preoccupied with Nino at the time then she wouldn't have slipped away and she could have easily been cornered and made to talk.

"We can always talk to her tomorrow babe." Nino offered as he slid onto the couch next to her. She sighed and leaned to rest her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as his fingers lightly danced through her hair.

"At Luka's thing? You going?" She asked through a sigh.

"Yeah, I figure it'll be kinda cool to hang with the old classmates again." She smiled as he said this and nuzzled in closer to his side. His hand slid down to rest on her shoulder as she did this and he turned his head to lay a gentle kiss on her temple. "I'm sure she's fine though, Marinette is a big girl now, she can take care of herself."

"She may be all grown up but she's no former hero." Alya pointed out as she flicked him on his nose. "If I had Trixx still then I would be out there looking for her right now." She grunted as she allowed her frown to deepen. "I would at least get ahold of Chat and tell him to look out for her. She is way too trusting, always has been, and she always wants to help others before she helps herself. Ladybug should've given her a miraculous, but I think she didn't because Mari is just too giving, it's a weakness."

"You are way too worried about her, I've known Marinette most of my life and, trust me, that girl is tough as nails." Nino urged as he rubbed her shoulder slowly. "Just let her make her own choices for a bit and see how far she gets with them, okay?"

"I am worried about her, why wouldn't she even tell us she was moving? She didn't even tell her mom or dad, its weird. Marinette usually doesn't hide stuff like that from us."

He knew she was right. When they attempted to find her at her parents bakery they didn't seem like they even knew she was missing. Tom and Sabine talked about how proud they were of her living in her own apartment while attending the school she worked so hard to get in to without even a hint of worry between them. Sabine even went so far as to thank Alya for sticking with Marinette even when her own career was taking off. They congratulated the couple when told they were expecting a baby, something Marinette would have already told them if she were still in contact with them, and offered to cater should Alya hold a baby shower or gender reveal.

They passed the time in silence as Alya drifted off to a restless sleep against his arm. He carried her to bed before climbing the fire escape next to their living room window and taking a seat on the roof of their apartment building. His phone was in his hand and his knee jumped as he thought over his plans. A year had already passed without a word between them and he couldn't even be sure that his old childhood friend even remembered him. Adrien hadn't even gone to their wedding, though he did send them gifts. Unfortunately Nino couldn't even be sure it was Adrien who sent them. Would it even still be his number?

"Won't know until I try." Nino sighed, his breath coming out in a thin fog as he glanced down at his phone screen. He unlocked it and opened his contacts, there at the top of the list was the one name he hadn't even thought about getting in contact with for months. Though, if Luka's words were to be believed, he would meet with at noon the next day. One tap later and the phone was ringing, and ringing. It went on and on, Nino growing more and more anxious about his plan, until finally he heard the voice he'd almost forgotten he missed.

"You've reached the personal number of Adrien Agreste. If you have business questions please call my office. If you have the wrong number I apologize. If you have a personal message for me leave your name, number, and message after the tone." It was a lot colder than the voicemails they used to make, where they held full conversations between each other by changing their outgoing messages, sometimes two or three times a day. Proof that those times were far behind them. Adrien was a businessman now. Nino may not be the director he dreamed of being just yet, but he knew that eventually his own voicemail message would be just as cold and impersonal as his old friends.

"Yo dude, er, sir, erm… Adrien. Yeah, Adrien, it's Nino." He sighed and grabbed his hair with one hand as he lowered his head. "It's um, it's been a while man. Hear you're a big shot now in the fashion industry, not that you weren't before but…" he stood and began to pace the roof as he spoke, unable to stay still as the words flowed from his lips. "Look I know we aren't exactly close at all anymore, we haven't seen each other in years and… Alya's pregnant. I'm going to be a dad man." He winced at his own words, what was he even thinking? He had to get to the point. "Yeah, so um, yeah. She uh… she's worried about Mari, Marinette, remember Marinette? She's still pretty close with us but… something er… something's going on with her. I uh, I know we are all meeting up tomorrow. Hope you can make it dude, but…" Nino groaned as he took a seat beside their buildings wifi box.

"Look, I uh, I need a favor man. Not Money! We're um… we're good on that. No. I need you to do me a solid and talk to Marinette, see if she'll tell you what's happening. Alya's stressin' because she hasn't said anything but, dog, she's not in that apartment she was living in anymore and we don't know where she went." his knee was bouncing again as he began to ramble off his request quickly. "I just need you to talk to her man, see if she will open up to you, she always liked you. I doubt it's a crush anymore but- I didn't say that. Ignore that part. Oh man Alya is going to murder me now." He facepalmed as he yanked the phone away from his ear and quickly hit the end call button. "Real great, reach out to your old best friend and turn into a dunce," he grumbled to himself as he shoved the phone in his pocket.

…...

"...I just need you to talk to her man, see if she will open up to you, she always liked you. I doubt it's a crush anymore but- I didn't say that. Ignore that part. Oh man Alya is going to murder me now." Adrien lowered the phone from his ear and glanced at the door to his bedroom. Beyond that was the hall that would lead him to the very girl that had his old best friend so stressed. He reached up to wipe away the dampness on his cheek and took in a shaky breath.

"No problem man." He said to the empty room.


	7. Chapter 7

The cluster of friends gathering at the restaurant filled two full tables, Ivan and Mylène brought their two children and smiled from the end of the first table as the young boy and girl played nearby. To their left sat Marinette, slumped over her drink and twirling her straw around the ice in the glass as she avoided the glare of Alya who was seated directly in front of her. She would glance up every few seconds to see the other woman glaring at her as if she had personally offended her by going home when they left her alone in a store the day before. Marinette supposed she could have tried harder to find them, but she also wasn't lying to Chat when she told him she had to study for an upcoming test.

"Hey, you're all here, cool." Marinette, like everyone else, looked up when Luka spoke. Seeing him standing there with Rose and Juleka standing behind him was so reminiscent of the years they spent playing in the band on their mother's houseboat that she could feel a slight pang of nostalgia pulling at her chest.

"Not everyone." Nino, who had been sitting in silence and sipping at his drink, spoke up without so much as turning to look at Luka. There was a collective silence as the group looked at Nino, each one not ready to cross the line he set with his words.

"Am I late?" The question hung in the air as Nino slowly turned in his seat. The look on the DJ's face when he spotted the tall blonde standing behind Luka was a mix of happiness and anger. Marinette could tell even at a glance that he still hadn't forgiven his old best friend for missing one of the most important days in his life.

Nino stood, his eyes hard as he pushed in his chair, and placed his hand on his wife's shoulder. Silence lay between the group, heavy with implications of just how far apart the two old friends had grown. Just when Marinette was preparing to break the tension, Nino licked his lips and spoke.

"Yeah man, you're late, by oh… Three or four years give or take." His words were firm but Marinette could see a hint of a smile on his lips as he said them.

"Traffic is terrible man." Adrien chuckled and scratched the back of his head as he spoke. His chuckled died away, overrun by the silence around him as Nino continued to stare, then a soft 'pfft' reached their ears followed by Nino's own chuckling.

"Where were you coming from? Atlantis?" He asked after calming himself down. Adrien smiled a small smile and gave him a shrug.

"Something like that." he murmured as he glanced around at the seats remaining. One beside Marinette hadn't been claimed yet and she rested her hand on it to indicate there was a spot for him, but a second later Juleka slid into it.

"Hello again Marinette." The dark haired woman murmured under her breath as she rested her hands on the table.

"Hey Juleka, how've you been?" Marinette gave her a warm smile as she leaned forward to rest her hands on the table as well.

"It's going pretty well, we are working through a mountain of paperwork to adopt." Rose answered for Juleka as she stepped up and rested her hands on her wife's shoulders.

"Adopting?" Marinette's brows raised as she asked the question. Rose gave her a wide smile as Juleka nodded.

"We're all settled, and that's what's next right? I mean we could…" Juleka's words faded away into an illegible murmur as she spoke. Marinette smiled at the thought that at least that hadn't changed about her old classmate.

"Luka is going to help us paint the nursery, I was thinking yellow would be a good color because we don't know if it'll be a boy or a girl." Rose spoke up yet again, the smile still on her lips as she spoke excitedly about their plans.

"Green would be nice." Marinette said before she could catch herself. "I- I mean green is a unisex color as well and if you use a pastel pallet then it would be very nice for nursery walls.

"Of course she would go with green, that girl is obsessed with our resident superhero after all. Surprised she didn't say to put little black paw prints around the border." Marinette fought against the heat in her cheeks as all her friends eyes turned to her.

"I'm not obsessed with him, he's our hero right? Everyone would like green, right?" Without meaning to, she turned her attention on Adrien for help. He held her gaze for a second before looking away and scratching his neck.

"Green is a good color." Luka came to her rescue instead, sitting down on the opposite side of Alya from Nino as he did so. "I had my hair green for about a year, when I was opening for Jagged Stone."

"That must've been fun." Ivan said as he draped his arm across the back of Mylène's chair.

"Personally I like the Zombie Skull Crushers, but… well…" Mylène smiled as she glanced up at her husband who chuckled and scratched his chin. The group did a collective 'awe', which left the couple pink in the cheeks, before everyone settled in at the table. Adrien ended up in front of Marinette but still couldn't seem to look her directly in the eye as the conversations around them continued. Marinette toyed with her food when it was brought out, and one glance over the table told her Adrien was doing the same. He seemed nervous and out of place amongst the crowd of old classmates laughing over old times.

"It's Chateau Canon." She jumped at the sound of Adrien's voice. She had zoned out staring down at his drink as her brain filled with questions about her roommate. Anytime she thought of the past he would always pop up. The smirk, the smile, the quick witted puns, they were always there, waiting to be pulled forth by some memory of long ago.

"What?" She asked, realizing that she was now staring at Adrien himself rather than his wineglass.

"My drink, Chateau Canon. It's a Bordeaux Red blend. Goes great with heavy meat." He motioned to his wine as he spoke and toyed with his uneaten steak with his other hand.

"I guess I'll have to try it sometime." Marinette gave him a small smile before glancing down at her own meal. A simple chicken stir fry on a bed of salad that she had moved around to the point it looked nothing like it was meant to.

"Do you want to?" He asked as he leaned back in his chair and prepared to flag down one of the wait staff.

"No! No, no… I didn't mean _now,_ I was just…" Adrien looked back at her with one eyebrow raised in confusion as her words died away. "I just, I was making conversation. I haven't seen you in a while and…" She sighed and ended her thought there, accenting it with a shrug.

"Are you sure? It's no problem." Adrien said before turning to the server who had come up behind him, "Can we have a bottle of the Chateau Canon for the table?" he asked the young man who simply smiled and nodded at him.

"None for me, thanks." Alya spoke up then, pulling everyone's attention to her, "I'm, well no better way to put it, I'm expecting." There were a few cheers and good luck wishes thrown her way, until a very sharp cough cut everyone off.

"I'll take her glass, I don't mind." Chloe Bourgeois stood just behind Adrien. Her long honey colored locks tied up behind her neck in an elegant bun and her body draped in a dress that would make her late mother beg her for fashion advice. She gave the group a warm smile before stepping around the table and accepting a seat that Nino pulled over for her, sitting herself down right beside Marinette.

"Hey Chloe." Adrien gave her a small wave before lowering his hand, which he had been awkwardly holding up during his short conversation with Marinette.

"Adrien, it's been too long." The blonde said in an almost dismissive tone before turning to give Marinette a large grin. "Oh my goodness, look at you!" She exclaimed then, reaching to run her fingers down Marinette's ponytail, "this hair, long hair looks fabulous on you. And this dress, it is utterly ridiculously beautiful! Who are you wearing?" Taken aback by her words Marinette could only blink for a moment before smoothing down her skirt.

"Oh, erm, no one. I mean, I made it myself." She murmured as she toyed with her food once again.

"That is absolutely-" Chloe gave a small gasp before grabbing onto Marinette's wrist, "You _have_ to design me a gown for my summer retreat, it will blow minds." All eyes were on them as Chloe gushed on and on about Marinette's dress. It was such a change from their school years that it had them all in silent shock.

"I… I guess I could…" Marinette said slowly, unsure of where this would lead.

"Great, give me your cell and I'll give you my personal number so you can reach me on the details." Chloe held her hand out expectantly as she spoke. Marinette felt as if she were struggling through a pool of sand as she reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, all the while expecting to see the other side of Chole to come out, or anything to change in the other woman's demeanor.

It barely brushed Chloe's manicured nails before the loud ringtone of Jagged Stone's last single filled the room. Marinette pulled the phone back quickly and glanced over the number flashing across her screen.

"Sorry," She said as she stood, she didn't recognize the number on her phone and thoughts of who it could be, particularly thoughts of a blonde in a mask, filled her mind, "I have to take this, excuse me." She moved away from the group and quickly through the dining room as she swiped to answer the call.

"Hello?" She said as soon as she was outside.

"Is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" a woman's voice asked from the other end.

"Yes, this is she." She said slowly, leaning against the wall to protect herself from a sudden gust of cold wind blowing past her.

"I am a nurse here at Hospital Saint-Louis Ap-Hp, your grandfather, Mr. Lou, was admitted here an hour ago due to complications with his heart. You are his emergency contact." Marinette's blood ran cold as the woman's words sank in.

"I'm on my way right now." She assured the nurse, already turning to head down the street.

"Just ask for Louise when you check in."

"Okay, thank you."

"Marinette!" She was already tucking her phone into her purse when, once again, Chloe's voice filled her ears. "Are you taking off without saying goodbye?"

"Sorry Chloe, family emergency." Marinette said, not even turning fully to look at the other woman.

"What's wrong? Talk to me Dupain-Cheng." Chloe jogged until she was walking beside Marinette, then fell into step with her.

"It's my grandfather, he- he had a heart attack."

"Which hospital?"

"What?" She finally turned to see Chloe staring at her with a serious look in her eye.

"Don't mess around, this is important, tell me the hospital." Chloe had her phone out and was texting someone furiously as she spoke.

"Saint-Louis Ap-Hp." Chloe nodded at her words and finished what she was typing before grabbing on to Marinette's arm. "Hey!" Marinette exclaimed as the blonde pulled her towards the parking lot.

"Come on, I'm giving you a ride. It'll be a lot faster than walking there. What were you thinking? Walking in an emergency? Ridiculous."

* * *

Adrien glanced behind himself as Chloe took off towards the door a minute after Marinette went through it. Back when they were in school she wouldn't have cared much about what was happening to anyone other than herself, it surprised him to see how far she had come in the few short years since he'd seen her last. Certainly far enough to be invited to this lunch in the first place. The thought that she had grown dramatically even in the short time she was Queen Bee didn't cease the itching feeling that something terrible would happen if he left her alone with Marinette.

He knew he had to think of something quickly, everyone around him had settled into their idle chatter and he knew it would look odd if he just left. Luka deserved better than that after getting everyone together again, Nino deserved better after the years they spent apart. They all deserved the dinner with old friends that had been planned just for them.

Being so tied up in his own thoughts, it took him far too long to realize that Plagg was pulling on his shirt to get his attention. He looked down to see the black kwami hanging halfway out of his jacket pocket with a bundle of his shirt between his paws. He raised his brows as Plagg motioned to the hallway just past their table furiously. Looking up to see none other than the turtle kwami ducking in and out of a decorative plant and looking at Nino nervously before turning his eyes on him.

The green kwami waved, then motioned to the sign stating the bathrooms were down that hall. It vanished into the plant once again just as Plagg ducked back into his pocket.

A cold sweat popped up along Adrien's brow. Something was wrong, why else would Master Fu send his kwami out to find him? He hadn't seen the short old man in years, or any sign of his magical companion that he would loan to the team from time to time. If he needed an excuse to leave the little reunion then he had it.

"Bathroom." He mumbled as he stood, making his way quickly to the hall and noting how strange it felt when the green kwami ducked into the collar of his shirt as he passed it by. The bathroom was empty, but he still slid into the last stall in the back just in case someone else walked in. He pulled his collar to give the green kwami room to escape as Plagg flew out of his pocket to rest on his knee.

"Finally, I thought you'd never notice us." Plagg complained in his usual way, chewing on a camembert chunk with an air of superiority about him. Adrien paid little attention to this as he looked to the floating kwami in front of him.

"Chat Noir, I am Wayzz." Adrien bowed his head as the turtle kwami, Wayzz, did the same. "I came as fast as I could to find you."

"Did something happen to Master Fu?" Adrien asked as he leaned back on the toilet seat, already preparing for the worst. If the master died of old age without Ladybug around then it would be up to him to guard all the miraculous in their stead, wouldn't it?

"He suffered a heart attack during a break in." Wayzz was straightforward in his delivery of the bad news. "He fought off the attackers for a long time, unfortunately the heart attack set in and they made off with many of his belongings, including the miraculous box."

"They took what?" Adrien was taken aback, he thought that he would have to take charge of them but this, it was so much worse than he expected.

"The miraculous box, it houses both the Kwami's and their corresponding miraculous within it. If someone finds a way to open the box, if they discover how to use the great power stored within-"

"Ladybugs-" Adrien cut him off.

"Ladybug never returned her miraculous to Master. Her earrings as well as Tikki are safe from the robbers." Wayzz returned the favor. The kwami looked irritated for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. "I have Masters miraculous with me. Other than Ladybug and yourself, it's the only one that is safe."

"What happened to Master Fu?" Adrien asked as he ran a hand down the side of his face.

"Luckily a customer came in shortly after the attackers left, Master has been sent to a facility to heal."

"What uh, facility, was he taken to?" Adrien asked around a worried frown.

"Hospital Saint-Louis Ap-Hp I believe." Ways lowered his head in thought as he spoke. Adrien nodded and held his hand out to accept the bracelet he was offered. He pushed it deep within his pocket and opened his jacket for both kwami's to hide inside.

"I'm sorry to run out on the meet up." He said directly to Luka as he approached their table, "an emergency popped up at the office and I have to be there to decide what to do about it."

"Oh, I hope it's not the new designs. My concert-" Luka stopped short as Adrien rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You're concert will be perfect I promise you that." Adrien said firmly before looking to the rest of the table. "Sorry to cut out early everyone, I'll pay the bill at the front. Order whatever you want."

"I hope that your emergency isn't…" He caught the first half of Juleka's words but knowing how she always talked he nodded his thanks anyway.

"We need to try a get together again when everyone is free, seeing you all again is delightful." Rose spoke up then.

"We saw each other last week- owch." Ivan replied to Rose, and was nudged roughly in his ribs by his wife who tilted her head towards Adrien. "Oh, yeah we should do this again when we can get a sitter."

"I don't think our sitter would be available." Alya chuckled, "I mean if she even still is our sitter, girl's been acting weird lately."

"Is your sitter okay? We could hook you up with ours." Mylène offered in her usual sweet as honey way.

"Oh no, I just mean that I am about to wring my besties neck if she doesn't talk to me." Alya was chuckling again, but anyone who knew her as well as Marinette or Nino could see the malice on her face. She was still beyond angry at her best friend for keeping secrets.

Adrien stepped away from the table and was surprised to see Nino standing and making his way over to him. The other man sighed through his nose as they fell into a silence that surrounded the short walk to the front door.

"Thanks for coming, I wish that Marinette hadn't taken off." Nino sighed as they exited the building.

"I do too." Adrien nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets. "I promise I'll talk to her, I just don't know how much it will help. I've talked to her less than I've talked to you these days."

"Yeah we all sorta pulled apart."

"Yeah." they were quiet for a beat, Adrien leading Nino towards his waiting car and praying that the other male didn't notice the whispering of the kwami's in his pockets. Nino looking off into the distance ahead of them with a stern expression that his old best friend wasn't aware he could have.

"Missed our wedding." The simple statement stopped Adrien in his tracks. He could feel the icy hot wave of guilt rushing through him as he stared at Nino's back.

"Something came up." Adrien began, then when Nino turned to look at him over the shoulder he added, "I was in surgery, it was a thing I couldn't avoid. Dude you know I wouldn't have missed your day if I could help it but it was unavoidable."

"Unavoidable?" Nino's eyes narrowed, it hurt to see him so untrusting after the many years that they were friends.

"Appendicitis." Adrien said quickly, "It wasn't pretty."

"Dude." Nino's eyes widened at the word, "I had no idea man." Adrien shrugged and let out a soft sigh.

"I felt terrible man, came to a few hours after your ceremony ended and it was worse than a gunshot wound to the stomach. I wish I could've been there for you, I really do." the two looked at one another before nodding and sharing a smile just like they used to. Nino walked him the rest of the way to the car and they waved their goodbyes to one another as he watched Nino return to the building. He sighed and set back in his seat as the doors shut behind his friend.

Wayzz and Plagg flew out of his coat as he pulled onto the main street. There was quiet in the car as he sped along, following the flow of traffic and grinding his teeth as the urge to just change into Chat and take to the rooftops invaded his mind. He hissed under his breath when stopped by a sudden red light, and slammed his hands against the steering wheel.

"You have to calm down Chat Noir," Wayzz urged in a gentle tone. Adrien turned to look at him before letting a soft 'tsch' escape him and turning back to the traffic.

"The miraculous' aren't safe and Master Fu is stuck in a hospital room alone and vulnerable." Adrien said around an angry snort. "Ladybug isn't around anymore so if someone decides to pull off being the next Gabriel and attempts to bring back akumas we are all fucked." He glanced between the kwamis as he spoke, "I can't destroy akumas, I can barely use cataclysm more than twice without Plagg being so worn out that I transform back in half the time as the old days."

"I told him to just ignore the mayor and use his power as much as he needed to build up tolerance, but 'Paris needs to stay in one piece Plagg' was his response every time." Plagg grumbled around a chunk of camembert. Adrien simply shrugged as he turned into the parking lot of the hospital. The engine was turned off and the three of them sat in silence for a moment as he stared up at the large building with growing unease.

"I know this place." When Wayzz turned towards him he continued, "the hospital, that wall over there, it's… it's where she left me for the last time."

"Are you gonna be okay kid?" Plagg asked as he looked up at Adrien with wide eyes.

"I'll…" Adrien took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I'll be okay, this is about Master Fu, not about me."

"He goes by Mr. Lou around civilians Chat Noir, remember that." Wayzz warned him as he opened his door and placed one foot on the pavement below him.

"Right, okay, asking for Mr…."

"Lee Lou." Wayzz nodded.

"Lee Lou, got it." Adrien shrugged and opened his jacket for the kwami's to fly into his waiting pocket. Once everyone was where they needed to be he stepped out of the car and took in another deep calming breath. He could still see her standing over him as he bled out against the wall that now set clean of any evidence he was even there, could still hear her tearful goodbye to him as she disappeared into the hospital never to be seen again. It was overwhelming, and for a moment he let himself be taken away by the emotions it left inside him. A quick pinch to the side of his stomach, Plagg biting him to catch his attention, pulled him back into reality and got him moving towards the Hospital doors.

* * *

Marinette sat beside the man sleeping in the hospital bed. Her leg thumped nervously as she shot glances at his bare wrist. He didn't have the turtle bracelet when he was admitted to the hospital, and the civilian who called in his heart attack told the police that his place looked ransacked when he discovered him.

"Marinette…" She jumped at the sound of her name and leaned forward so he could easily see her without having to adjust his position on the bed.

"Master, where's your miraculous?" She asked in a hushed tone, she didn't know when Chloe would come back from the cafeteria and didn't want to risk the blonde overhearing them.

"Chat Noir should have it by now, it's safe." His response just put her more on edge and the strange sensation that she was being watched overcame her.

"What, erm, what happened exactly?" She asked nervously.

"Some poor souls came in looking for anything I had that would be of value to them, I fought them off then-" He vaguely motioned to his chest. Her face warmed with sudden anger as she stood from her chair.

"You listen here! A heart attack isn't something you just brush off. It's WORSE than that time you had stomach issues and you're here acting like you chipped a nail." She was so in the moment, reprimanding him, that she didn't notice the door opening or Chloe and Adrien stepping into the room.

"Marinette?" She turned quickly to the door, her eyes still wide and her lips still forming an angry scowl. Her face softened immediately as her eyes darted between the two blondes.

"Look who I found downstairs!" Chloe smiled as she motioned to Adrien, "Come to find out your grandpa is his old chinese teacher." Marinette's mouth slowly closed as she turned to look down at Master Fu. He gave her a small shrug before turning and speaking to Adrien in chinese. Adrien replied something back that once again Marinette couldn't understand, the exchange left her feeling very removed from the situation.

"You never told me he was a student of yours." Marinette looked back at Master Fu as she spoke and he gave her another shrug in response.

"Never told me he had a granddaughter." Adrien commented as he narrowed his eyes at the man.

"It is healthy to keep personal and business relationships separate I believe." Master Fu spoke up then.

"Well, this is awkward." Chloe drew the attention in the room to herself, "Well since Grandpa Dupain-Cheng seems alright now I'm gonna take off. You have my number Marinette, I'm serious about that dress so call me as soon as you can alright."

"Yeah, no problem Chloe." Marinette nodded to the woman as she watched her go, then felt her shoulders relax slightly. With Chloe gone, she only needed to wait for Adrien to leave so she could figure out what happened to Wayzz and Master Fu's miraculous.

"I'm glad you're alright Mr… Lou." Marinette's eyes widened when Adrien moved to sit beside Master Fu as he spoke. "Your associate told me you were in the hospital and I rushed right over to give you my support. They said your home was ransacked?"

"Yes, they took my precious gramophone." Fu sighed around his words. "Anything else would have been replaceable but…" He glanced at Marinette who had her eyes locked on him as she slowly tilted her head first to one side then the other, telling him that she didn't want her identity given to a civilian, especially since she was retired. "But it was an heirloom, something that can never be replaced."

"I'm sure that the robbers will be caught Ma- Grandpa, we just need to hope nothing is… damaged." Marinette looked down at her lap as she spoke, unsure of what she should do.

"I'm sure that everything is fine Marinette, I have my… ways of insuring my property is returned to me." Fu glanced towards Adrien after he spoke and let loose a long sigh, "Though I must say, if the team of Ladybug and Chat Noir was still around I think that my property wouldn't be in such danger."

"I'm sure the police could help just as well Grandpa, I know you're a big fan but-"

"Marinette's right, I mean Chat Noir is still around and I'm sure he would be willing to help you find your heirloom, but Ladybug abandoned Paris a long time ago." Adrien cut her off, leaving her to stare at him, in shock at his words.

"I wouldn't say she abandoned Paris, it didn't need her anymore." Marinette snapped back once she pulled herself together, "Chat Noir is doing perfectly well, no he's doing better on his own than with her around. Not to mention there hasn't been an akuma attack in years, no need for Ladybug when there's nothing for her to do."

"What else would you call it but abandonment? She was a symbol to so many people and she just decided one day that she didn't want to help anymore. I call that Abandoning Paris." Adrien crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her as he spoke. She could feel her lips curling into a snarl at the confident gleam in his eyes.

"Well maybe if she wasn't used as the symbol and was able to share the spotlight with her much stronger partner then the pressure wouldn't have built up, ever think of that?" Marinette crossed her own arms and looked away from him pointedly. "Not much she could do to help in a straight fight and she knew it."

"She still had her yoyo and her fighting skills. I didn't see her being the one beaten up every fight!"

"Well maybe that's because HE was the one actually fighting!"

"Stop!" Marinette and Adrien turned to Master Fu, who was now sitting up in bed and looking ready to hit both of them on the back of the head. "What good is bickering over this subject doing for either of you, or me for that matter?"

"I think I should go, I'll see you tomorrow though." She pointedly said this to Master Fu as she stood to leave.

"Then go." Adrien snapped, situating himself in his own seat and looking as if he planned to stay the night if needed.

"I am." She sneered.

"Then go." He repeated.

"I'm going."

"Good."

"Bye." She practically growled as she reached the doorway.

"Bye then." Was the response she got back. With a huff she slammed the door shut behind herself and stomped off down the hallway.

….

"You didn't have to go that far Chat Noir. She said nothing bad about you." Master Fu said once the door was shut behind her. Adrien sighed heavily and leaned forward to cup his forehead in his hands while the kwamis flew out of their hiding spots.

"What's the deal with the gramophone?" Adrien said without looking up at him, "You mentioned it specifically but she was here so I can only assume it has something to do with the miraculous."

"You would assume correctly Chat Noir, it's very important that box be returned to me." Fu frowned around his words. "If they discover the secrets of it and another Hawkmoth attacks, or worse more people are given miraculous' with malicious intents then-"

"Ladybug would feel wanted again if that happened, maybe she'd show up at least once." Adrien grumbled.

"She has her reasons Chat Noir, maybe not reasons we can understand right now, but reasons nonetheless. She will return if she feels the need too."

"I need her to! What happens if they do figure out what they have? What am I supposed to do, hand your bracelet over to someone and tell them to build a shield around the akumas?" Adrien ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he spoke. "Is there any other way to cure akumas, Queen Bee-"

"Unfortunately no, though she is versatile, I can assure you Queen Bee would be as useful in cleansing akumas as you are. Only the Ladybug miraculous can cleanse them." Fu said sadly.

"She can't do anything if she isn't around to cleanse them!" Adrien looked up from his hands with a deep frown creasing his brow.

"Patience Chat Noir, she will return when she's ready."

"Yeah, you've said that before."

* * *

 _Hi! Ad here, Just an update. I plan to add a few more chapters to this. I'm currently working on Chapter 10 for it and plan on finishing this story. Not soon, the plan is for it to be a long going story. I hope you are all enjoying it. To my new readers, thank you so much for taking the time to read my little story, I hope it will be something you can come back to over and over again._

 _Much Love,_

 _Ad_


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